Everyone deserves a second chance
by filthyhotmess
Summary: Quinn and Rachel decide to "start over" and give things another go. Will it work?  Will their friendship blossom or will it fall to ruins?
1. Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry had never been what you would call 'close'. In fact, the two equally stubborn girls had never even been friends. Quinn thought Rachel was nothing more than an obnoxious little brat while Rachel knew that deep down, Quinn's attitude was based mainly on the social ladder system that existed within the school. Cheerios were at the top – everybody knew that – and Quinn was the girl in charge of the squad. Rachel was a proud member of Glee Club and had always dreamed of becoming a star on Broadway. She always strived to be the best she could be; McKinley High School had never known such talent.

Although Rachel and Quinn had never quite seen eye-to-eye, there was a noticeable change between the two when Quinn's pregnancy was made public. A silent agreement had been made between the girls; Rachel had made Quinn realise that the members of the Glee Club would be the people she would find herself turning to the most once her secret come out. Quinn knew the diva was right, it just took her a little while to come to terms with it and accept that. At first she didn't want to be shut out by the social circle she'd spent so many years ruling, but she knew she had to submit eventually – especially when she was kicked off the Cheerios by Sue Sylvester. She became a slushy victim at the hands of the jocks and finally, she understood exactly how she'd been making Rachel Berry feel for as long as she could remember.

One afternoon when Quinn was walking towards her locker, she noticed that Rachel was standing in the hallway, next to her own locker only a few paces away from Quinn's. She didn't look as though she was doing anything important, so Quinn decided to do what she'd been putting off for weeks. She walked over to the brunette, approaching her with caution so she could make a quick exit if she changed her mind. "Ber- Rachel. Hi, Rachel." Rachel turned around in shock, not expecting another soul to be roaming the hallway.

"Oh! Hello, Quinn. Do you need something? Are you okay? You're looking a little pale."

"No, I mean yes, I mean..." Quinn frowned at getting so flustered and nervous. "Can we talk, if you have a few minutes?"

Rachel, unsurprisingly, looked slightly alarmed. "Um, sure. I have a free period because the teacher called in sick and Principal Figgins couldn't find a replacement on such short notice." It was obvious from her tone that she wasn't at all pleased that she would miss a whole lesson. _Education is extremely vital to one's development and we should not be deprived of that, _Rachel had thought. "We can go into the choir room, if you wish. It's free and we won't be bothered."

Quinn followed Rachel's lead into the dark and empty room, silence filling the air as both girls waited in anticipation. The blonde walked over to one of the chairs, indicating for Rachel to go sit down next to her. The diva obediently did so.

"Okay. Listen, Rachel. There's a few things I need to say to you and I just need you to let me finish before you go wading in, alright? I want to apologise to you. And before you give me your wide-eyed look, no, this isn't some prank I'm trying to pull. Finding out I was pregnant was a massive shock to me, it's changed everything. It's changed _me_. I know exactly what I've put you through in the past and I truly feel terrible. You were right when you said the Glee kids would be the ones that stuck by me and I was stupid to think any differently. I just... I've been the biggest bitch to you and the truth is you've never done anything to me. You've never said anything bad or done anything hurtful against me. I'm sorry that I've been such an ass, Rachel. I just hope that someday, you can find it in your heart to forgive me, even though I don't really deserve it."

Rachel sat firmly in her seat, dumbstruck at Quinn's revelation. This was quite possibly the first time in the diva's life that she'd been lost for words. Hearing nothing from Rachel, Quinn took that as her sign to leave and got up, when Rachel reached over and grabbed her arm. "Don't go. Please, stay. I'm sorry for my lack of reply, I'm just shocked, to tell you the truth. If there was anything in the world I expected you to ever say to me, an apology would not be it."

"I know." Quinn looked down in shame, all the hurtful words and actions she'd attacked Rachel with swarming around in her head. "I've hurt so many people. The worst part is that I done it with ease. During all the years I've tormented you, I didn't even stop to think for a second how much I might actually be hurting you. Just like when I slept with Puck, I didn't even think about Finn. I'm such a selfish person and I don't want to hurt people anymore. That's why I came here, to you. I've treated you like shit because of some pathetic high school popularity order and I need to tell you how sorry I am."

"It's okay, Quinn. I forgive you." Rachel gave Quinn one of her wide smiles that told the blonde she meant it.

"What? How? Why? Please don't tell me you forgive me just because I'm upset. Please, don't do that. I don't deserve that kindness." Quinn dropped her head once again.

"Hey, look at me. I'm not just saying it. I _do _forgive you. Everybody deserves a second chance, Quinn, and you're no different. Yes, you have made my life slightly unbearable over the last few years and there have been times when I've wanted nothing more than to just hate you, more than anything. But I couldn't. Deep down, I knew you weren't that person. Do you remember when we were little kids and we used to be sort of friends?"

Quinn smiled at the distant memory. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, so do I. And I've always known that the little Quinn that I used to know was in there somewhere. I've always known the head bitch act was just that. I kind of understood. I still wanted us to be friends when we got to high school and it hurt when you changed with me, but I always knew that the little girl who used to smile at me was in there."

The blonde didn't know how to respond. While she felt an immense pain of guilt inside her chest, she also felt a great heartache for the little girl she used to be. She knew the reason she changed with Rachel when they got to high school. Being brought up in a strict Catholic background with strict Catholic parents, Quinn knew exactly the reason why she had been sworn against Rachel. Russell Fabray, father of the Fabray household, was extremely homophobic and set in his ways. He had made it clear on more than one occasion that she was not to mix with "freaks" like the brunette and her "perverted fathers". Quinn didn't understand why her father was so hateful, but she knew not to question it and not to go against him.

Rachel witnessed a solitary tear slide down Quinn's cheek. "What's wrong? Quinn? Are you okay? Please, don't cry." Rachel reached into her bag and grabbed a packet of tissues, pulling one out and quickly handing it to the crying girl sitting next to her.

Quinn started. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I'm s-so sorry." With that, she felt the smaller girls arm slide around her shoulder in a moment of comfort. It was strange to her; the two had been enemies for the past few years, yet all of a sudden she felt comfortable and safe in Rachel's grasp. "I know I don't have a right to ask anything of you, Rachel, but do you think that we could start over? I know I haven't given you reason to trust me in the past, but I really want to make it up to you and show you that I'm not the person I've been showing since the beginning of high school."

"I'd really like that. I'd like it if we could form a friendship out of this whole thing. If I'm honest, all I ever wanted was for the two of us to be friends."

The two shared a smile and sat in silence for a few moments longer, before the bell for final period cursed through the school. Both girls exited the choir room after turning out the light and made their way into the busy hallway. Rachel piped up with a smile. "I'll see you in Glee, Quinn. I hope you have an enjoyable class." With that, the small brunette was happily bouncing along the hallway to her lesson.

Glee was over with pretty quickly, something that Rachel was surprisingly thankful for, because she was just exhausted. Just before she managed to skip out of the room, she heard her name being called. She turned around and saw Quinn standing at her chair putting some of her books in her bag. "Hey. I wanted to give you this," Quinn said shyly as she handed Rachel a piece of paper. Rachel looked down and realised the blonde had given her phone number to her.

"Thank you, Quinn. I will send you a text message when I'm home so that you have my number in return." Quinn just replied with a smile and a quick nod.

"Hey," Rachel offered, "let me take that for you." She removed Quinn's bag from her shoulder and put it on her own.

"You don't have to do that, Rachel. I don't have to worry about lifting things for at least another few months."

Rachel waved her hands frantically. "No, it's fine. I don't mind. You don't want to strain yourself in your condition and the books you're carrying around with you are of a fairly heavy weight. I'll take them to your car for you."

"Oh, uh... I, uh, I don't have my car."

"Oh. Is there something wrong with it?" Rachel wondered in confusion.

"Not exactly," Quinn replied. "When my parents found out I was pregnant, right before they kicked me out they took my car off me."

"I see. If you don't mind me saying, that's not very Christian-like. Making a pregnant girl walk!"

"I was just going to get the bus because Puck's over at a friend's house," Quinn delicately said, almost in a whisper.

"Nonsense. I'll give you a ride to Noah's house," She could see Quinn about to object. "I insist. I'll have no arguments on the matter. I realise we're only just trying to form a friendship, but I would offer you a ride home even if we weren't on speaking terms. Under no circumstances would I allow a pregnant girl to get on a tightly-packed bus with a heavy bag, you don't know what kind of germs you could catch! You have to think about your health now, Quinn."

"Wow. Just...wow. Fine, I'll accept a ride off you. Thanks."

The two girls walked over to Rachel's car and got in, Rachel immediately turned on the car heater for Quinn. The drive to Puck's house was quiet, but not uncomfortable by any means. Quinn wanted to ask Rachel why she was being so nice to her, but she knew what the answer would be. She'd relay the exact thing she said to her in the choir room earlier that day. Before she knew it, the car came to a stop and Rachel announced that they had arrived.

"Thanks for the ride, Rachel. I appreciate it. I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"It's no problem. Yeah, Monday. Have a good weekend, Quinn. Take it easy." Rachel gave Quinn one last smile as the blonde shuffled out of the car and walked up to the Puckerman's front door. She turned around and gave the brunette a wave and let herself into the house. Rachel put the car in drive and set off to her own home. Along the way, she felt herself smiling and realised that, for the first time in a while, she was going home with something to feel genuinely happy about.


	2. Chapter 2

On Friday evening, after dropping off Quinn and returning home, Rachel had sent the blonde a text message and the two spent the entire weekend exchanging messages. By Sunday Rachel actually looked forward to school that was approaching the next day. It was a strange feeling to her and she was worried in case she was jumping the gun. She didn't want to seem too eager to Quinn. However, she knew that the words Quinn spoke in school were sincere and decided to quash the negative thoughts that were creeping in. This was her chance to finally have a real friend.

Monday morning slowly crawled around and it was time for a brand new week of school. Rachel arrived at 8:15am with forty-five minutes to spare before class. Punctuality was important to Rachel, not to mention the fact that she was overzealous about everything. Knowing that nobody will be there at that time, the first place she heads to is the choir room. She wanted to put her time to good use and decided that the best way to do so would be to do some vocal training. Rachel took large strides to the choir room, because everybody knew how excited the girl got when it came to singing. She entered the dark room and put the light on, but before her hand could reach the switch, she could see that she wasn't alone. She noticed a shadowed figure sitting at the bench of the piano; a girl, she could see that much. Thoughts ran through her head of who it could be at that time in the morning. Arriving early for school was a regular occurrence for Rachel and she had never noticed any other students roaming the school forty-five minutes early. Her confusion grew as the female figure began gently stroking her fingers delicately over the keys on the piano. Rachel felt like she was imposing but couldn't bring herself to walk out of the door she'd entered minutes before. As the sound of the piano filled the room, the small brunette could feel tears pricking her eyes. She blinked back the tears threatening to spill over and continued to listen to the emotion that was passionately pouring from the unknown girls' fingers.

After a time that felt like an eternity, the music stopped. Curiosity had gotten the best of Rachel as she had started walking closer to where the girl was sat. As she approached, the other girl sensed she was no longer alone in the room and she turned around. "Quinn? What're you doing in here at this time?" Rachel barely got out her question, in a form of obvious shock because of the piece Quinn had so elegantly played.

"I didn't know anybody was here. I thought I was alone."

"I always come to school this early. One must always put available time to good use, especially when I'm going to be on Broadway! My voice needs all the rehearsal it can get."

Quinn blinked. "Oh. Well, I woke up early this morning and didn't want to wait around Puck's house. His mom kind of, well, she gives me the creeps. I know she doesn't like me, but she doesn't have to make it so damn obvious."

"Quinn, I'm sure Noah's mother likes you. I can imagine she's just slightly annoyed at the fact that her son is going to be a father at such a young age. She can't dislike you that much; she's letting you live with her, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but I _know_ she doesn't want me there. It's fine, though. I don't really want to be there, either. I just have no choice because I have nowhere else to go."

Rachel hated to think of the blonde being somewhere that made her miserable. _There must be some way I can help, _she thought, but she soon pushed that idea away when she realised that Quinn probably didn't want her help.

An awkward silence fell when Rachel spoke again. "I had no idea you were so talented at the piano. That truly was beautiful."

"Thanks." Quinn blushed at the compliment that poured out so easily from the diva's lips. "I took lessons when I was a child. I always found it relaxed me."

"Well, listening to you playing made me feel relaxed, too, so I guess I can kind of understand where you're coming from."

Quinn simply smiled at the girl and dropped her eyes back to the keys, as well as her fingers. She found it odd that she felt so comfortable around the girl who she'd made her victim for the last few years. Even though she'd apologised for her previous behaviour, she knew that didn't make it right. However, she knew the brunette had a big heart and that with time she could make it up to her. The girls sat together for the remainder of the time and listened as Quinn softly played the piano.

The two walked idly together at 8:55 to their lockers to grab their books, knowing they both first period together. As they entered the class, after sharing a small smile, they took their seats which were at opposite ends of the room. Rachel didn't pay much attention to the teacher that class as she sat and wondered what had happened to the real Quinn Fabray. She was cautious but thankful that the girl had started speaking to her in a less demeaning manner. She could tell the blonde was changing her ways, she just didn't know whether she should be scared about her changing them back after the baby was born. _That doesn't matter_, she thought, _there's plenty of time before the baby is due._

The school bell pulled Rachel out of her thoughts and back into reality. She got outside the classroom and noticed that Quinn was waiting for her, causing her to feel even more cautious. "Oh, hi Quinn."

"Hi. I thought I'd wait for you, seeing as we're going in the same direction for our lockers."

Rachel was taken aback by the statement. Never in a million years would she have thought that Quinn Fabray would ever wait for her after class. They walked in silence through the crowded hallway and made their way slowly to Quinn's locker. Before the girls could bid their goodbyes until glee, Santana and Brittany rolled up to where the girls were stood.

"What the hell, Q? You're hanging with the losers now?" Santana sniped with conviction.

"Don't call her that. You don't always have to be such a bitch, you know. She hasn't done anything to you."

Rachel couldn't have been more shocked that Quinn, of all people, was defending her.

"Whatever. Listen here Manhands, why don't you just run along to your friends? Oh, sorry, I forgot. You don't have any of those. Don't think that Quinn will become your BFF because she's fell off the social ladder and landed on her fat ass."

Rachel lowered her eyes to the floor in an obvious attempt to stop the tears from spilling over as she started to walk away. "I'll see you in glee, Quinn."

"What the fuck, S? Quit being such a bitch and stop calling Rachel names! What the hell has she ever done to you? Just because you rule the roost in the Cheerios now doesn't mean I won't knock you down a peg or two." Before she could hold the words back, Quinn was not only defending Rachel Berry, but she was threatening her best friend.

"I know you did not just threaten me, Tubbers. What're you planning to do, roll onto me? Get a grip. You just hate the fact that I stole your position at the top because you were dumb enough to get knocked up. Don't try and play cosy friends with Rachel just because you think it'll make you feel superior again. It's pathetic." With that, Santana walked away with her pinkie finger linked with Brittany's.

The entire school day flew by in an emotional blur for Rachel and before she knew it, she was in her car taking the short drive home. She was upset at Santana's hurtful comments and shocked at Quinn's defensive attitude. She knew that she and the blonde were attempting to form a friendship and she knew that the other girl was truly making an effort to fix things between them. That didn't, however, stop the shock that came on after hearing Quinn sticking up for her against her own best friend.

When Rachel got home, she said a quick hello to her dads, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and quietly went upstairs to her bedroom. She looked over to her computer and decided to check her messages. She'd posted a MySpace video the night before and wondered if she'd received any comments yet. When she signed in and went straight to the video, she wasn't surprised to see that she had, yet again, more hate mail. She got up out of the chair, walked over to her bed and flopped onto it face first. _Just once, why can't someone tell me that I have a nice voice? Or they like my skirt? Or I look pretty?_ Rachel couldn't help but torture herself with these thoughts. She was then distracted by her phone vibrating on the table next to her bed. She reached over and grabbed it, noticing that she had a text message.

**Hey, it's Quinn. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time. Just wanted to say sorry for Santana earlier. Maybe we could hang out soon? –Quinn. **

Rachel was stunned and almost dropped her phone with shock. She began immediately punching back a reply, although she didn't really know what to say.

**Hello Quinn. No, I wasn't doing anything. Don't worry about it, I know how Santana is, I'm used to it by now. You really want to hang out...with me? –Rachel.**

Within seconds a reply came.

**She's a bitch, please just ignore her from now on. Yeah, of course. I mean, that's what friends do, right? When are you free? –Quinn.**

Quinn was pacing the room she had as a bedroom at Puck's house, worried that she sounded too eager to socialise with the girl. What if she said no? She wouldn't blame her, after everything she's put her through.

**Then I would love to hang out with you. Well, I'm free pretty much every night. Not having high popularity stats causes you to spend evenings alone, I guess. So, whenever you're free, we'll sort something out. –Rachel. **

**How about this evening? It's okay if it's too short notice. –Quinn.**

Rachel's breath hitched a little. Quinn Fabray wanted to socially mix with her. She didn't know what to think, but she didn't want to keep the girl waiting and make her think she didn't want to hang out with her.

**This evening would be fantastic. Would you like me to come pick you up? –Rachel.**

**That's alright, I'll borrow Puck's car. I know the address, I'll be over in 20 minutes. –Quinn. **

Rachel began to panic. Her former tormentor was coming over to her house to hang out and she didn't have a clue what they could possibly do that Quinn would find entertaining. She didn't want the blonde to think she was a loser again, so she went over to her DVD collection and picked out a few non-musical discs that she wouldn't be made fun of for.

The twenty minute wait went quicker than Rachel thought it would, and before she knew it she heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it." She shouted downstairs to her fathers so that she could be the one who greeted Quinn. She raced out of her room and all but jumped down the stairs in a mix of nervousness and excitement at finally having a friend over. As she walked over to the front door, she straightened out her t-shirt and walked over to the handle, reaching her hand to grab it.

Quinn Fabray had never had the breath knocked out of her before, and when Rachel Berry opened the front door to greet her, she didn't understand why she was all of a sudden rendered speechless.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. I'm just an idiot with a keyboard and an imagination that needs to set itself free.**

**A/N: I really hope that you guys like the story so far. I'd like to thank the people who've reviewed so far, for reviewing and sticking with this. This is probably going to be quite a long fic, because I know EXACTLY what I want to do with it. It's just getting to that stage. It won't have massive time jumps for the most part, because I like to fit in quite a bit of detail. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. **

**A/N (2): I'm so sorry that I've taken a while with this one. I've been SO busy with essays lately because we're approaching the end of the first year. Hang in there with me folks. **

Rachel flashed the most sincere and beautiful smile Quinn had ever seen. _Wait...beautiful? What? _Quinn discreetly shook her head of the thought and returned the smile.

"Come in, Quinn." Rachel ushered the blonde into her home and instantly tried to make her feel at home. She wondered why it didn't feel awkward or strange to have her ex-enemy in her house, but comforting and nice. She put it down to the new friendship that was forming between them and tried not to let the thought invade her mind for too long.

In a moment of silence, Quinn quickly tried to search her brain for something to say. Although it wasn't an awkward silence, she felt words needed to be spoken so it didn't head that way. She spoke the first thing that came to her head. "You have a lovely house, Rachel."

The brunette wasn't used to compliments from Quinn and was quite taken aback by the sincere comment. However, she knew not to question it, so quickly made her thanks and invited the other girl up to her bedroom.

Quinn was stunned and with a short breath, she let out a sigh that sounded a little like "Wow." Over the years of tormenting Rachel over her MySpace videos, Quinn expected the bedroom she had done them in to be bright pink and bejewelled, just like her phone and purse. However, when she walked further into the room she found that the walls were a cool yellow and her bed sheets were a nice, bright white with a slight floral pattern.

"Have a seat, Quinn. Make yourself at home. Would you like anything? A snack? A drink?"

Quinn sat down slowly on Rachel's bed, thankful for the weight being taken off her swollen feet. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

Sitting on Rachel's bed and being around the brunette felt like second nature. She wasn't sure why or how it happened, but she knew she felt comfortable. Hell, she just _felt_. This was the first time she'd really felt anything since her parents kicked her out of her family home. The fact that it was with Rachel Berry wasn't something she was thinking about too much, because she just wanted to feel something.

Rachel pulled Quinn from her thoughts. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to do? We could watch a movie, your choice of course. You are my guest, after all. We could go and hang out with my dads, or go for a drive, even though you only just got here. Or we co-"

"Rachel!" Quinn interrupted sharply.

"Sorry, I ramble a lot when I'm nervous. It's not every day your former tormentor turned friend is in your bedroom wanting to hang out with you."

"I know. I just...I'm fine to sit here, talk, watch a movie. Anything. Just hang out."

Rachel had an idea that made her face burst into a smile. "Have you ever watched Funny Girl?"

Quinn looked as though she had to think about it for a second. "No, I don't think so. It doesn't sound familiar."

Before she knew it, Rachel was running over to her DVD shelf and putting a disc into her player. She grabbed the remote to turn on the television and walked back to the bed, perching herself next to Quinn. She pressed a button on the remote and the screen flickered and came to life.

Rachel turned excitedly to face Quinn. "You're going to LOVE this film. It's a classic!"

Quinn just smirked. "What happened to the guest choosing what we watch?"

"Oh, Quinn. I have to educate you because you have, for some reason, never had the delight of watching this movie. It is a must. You can pick the next one."

The girls settled down on the bed when the beginning credits opened and Rachel could swear she heard Quinn sigh with relief when she leaned down onto the pillow. She couldn't imagine the pain and discomfort the pregnant girl was feeling. She suddenly found herself wanting to protect the vulnerable girl next to her, which made her feel stricken with guilt because of her loyalty to Finn. She didn't want to hurt him, but when she was with Quinn, she seemed to forget about the feelings that she held for the goofy boy.

A few hours later, with the movie finished and the girls both growing tired, Quinn decided it was time she left the Berry residence. As she told the brunette that she should get home, she noticed a change in Rachel's eyes. It looked almost like disappointment. _It couldn't be, _Quinn thought.

"I've really had a wonderful evening with you, Quinn. You know, spending time with you really isn't as daunting as I thought it would be. Who knew we could sit and watch a movie together without bickering?"

Quinn let out a soft giggle, a sound that Rachel found herself wanting to hear more of. Rachel threw a 100-watt smile at Quinn, unable to help herself.

"We must do it again. If you want to, that is. I wasn't trying to make you feel pressured into doing something you may not want to do. Given our history, I'll understand if you don't want to hang out too much when we're not at school. So just, if you wa-"

"Rachel!" Quinn said with a laugh. "I've noticed you babble a _lot_ when you're nervous. If you're nervous, please don't be. Not around me. I know I've been an ass in the past but I promise you that I want to fix things. I know I can't take everything back, all what I did and said, but I'll put things right between us. I will."

Rachel beamed, her smile reaching both ears. "Quinn, everything between you and I is in the past. While I can't say it didn't hurt me, I'm mature enough to be able to move past things. Like I said when you apologised at school, I forgive you. I'm just glad that we can move forward and become friends. That's all I ever wanted."

Quinn faltered for a second, a brief thought of hugging the brunette in her head. However, before the blonde could put thoughts into action, Rachel gripped her in what could only be described as a bear hug. After a few seconds, the girls slowly and somewhat reluctantly pulled apart, both with feelings of confusion as to why they didn't want to break the hug.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

Quinn blushed as Rachel tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear, with a shy smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel."

With that, Quinn let herself out of Rachel's house as the brunette stood with a smile attacking each of her features. Her eyes had a shine to them that Finn could never produce, as she realised that hearing Quinn call her by her first name made her stomach flutter a little.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: It breaks my heart, but I do not own Glee!**

**A/N: Hi guys! First off I just want to say, to those who are reviewing this story, thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you have patience with me, because there'll be times when I'm unable to post a chapter for a long period of time. Everything's crazy right now!**

**A/N (2): After writing this chapter, I realised it was FAR too long, and had to cut it down into two chapters. A little bit disappointed at that, but I wanted to get the detail that I have in there. This weekend is going to be quite a turning point for Quinn and Rachel, getting to know each other on deeper levels than they'd imagined. Enjoy.**

The next few days at school flew by and before they realised, it was Friday afternoon and the school week was quickly drawing to a close. Throughout the previous days that had now passed, Quinn and Rachel continued with their blossoming friendship, both girls finding it easier than they thought it would be. The former enemies came to realise how much they actually had in common; they both struggled with their self-worth, both lacked confidence deep down but had different ways of dealing with it. The other kids in glee club had noticed a major shift in the mood between the two girls, some having better opinions than others about the newly formed alliance. Brittany, being the lovely, bubbly girl that she was, wanted nothing more than for the Rachel and Quinn to be friends. Santana didn't understand why Quinn wanted to hang around with the other girl, who described Rachel as 'the most annoying ass little freak to walk the earth'. Puck, Mercedes and Tina had the same thought of not really caring too much. Kurt, however, had his own ideas about the girls becoming close.

"Mercedes, do you not think it's odd how easily those two have just started getting along?" Kurt questioned.

"Hell, I don't _even_ care. All I know is that while those two aren't ripping at each other's throats, Glee Club is a better atmosphere. We don't be needin' their drama."

"No, there's definitely more to it. Those two just have my gay senses tingling."

"What?" Mercedes laughed out. "You seriously think they're sharing some secret lesbian attraction?"

Kurt held his head high. "I do, and I will bet it's a matter of time before they cave to their hidden desires. You'll see, Mercedes. Never doubt a gay guy's intuition." With that, Kurt spun on his heels and flitted off down the corridor to his next class, leaving a speechless Mercedes standing alone, open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

As everyone was making their way out of the choir room to head home after Glee, Rachel took the opportunity to approach Quinn with something she'd wanted to ask her all day. Quinn looked up and noticed Rachel standing there, twisting her fingers with a facial expression that screamed **NERVOUS**.

"Hey, what's up Rach?" Quinn smiled gently at the girl, but felt a little anxious and concerned about the worried look that Rachel was exposing.

"I...I was uh, I was just wondering, and feel free to say no if you don't feel comfortable with it yet or if you feel like I'm moving too fast. Would you like to...uh, spend the night at...at my house this weekend? It's just that I overheard you say to Santana at your locker that Puck's mom was away this weekend and I didn't want you to be alone with Puck seeing as I thought it'd make you feel a little lonely and uncomfortable and I figured that it'd be ample opportunity for us to learn more about each other. But now that I'm saying this out loud I feel slightly silly because I realise you probably made plans with Brittany and Santana. Forget I said anything, I didn't mean to overstep a mark." Rachel began to back out of the room when Quinn grabbed her wrist.

"Rachel." Quinn stated after letting Rachel continue with her rambling. "Like I've said to you before, don't be so nervous around me. I'd actually really, really like to spend the weekend at your house. I didn't have plans with S and B; they get up to unsanitary things that I really don't wish to be subjected to. And I definitely don't want to spend the weekend alone with Puck. So yes, I will happily spend the weekend at your house."

Rachel beamed. "Oh! Okay! That's great! Do you need to go home and get some things first?"

"Yeah, I'll grab some things and then I'll drive to your house. Are you sure your dads won't mind? I mean, I've only met them once and I'm pretty sure that one of them didn't like me."

"Quinn, my fathers are very protective, but they have no reason to not give you a chance the way that I have been willing to. They'll be relieved that I finally have someone to call a friend. Please don't worry about them, my daddy is much worse than my dad for being protective. They're both fully aware of our past, and while they _will_ test you to make sure you're being true, they'll also open their minds enough to give you a chance to prove yourself."

"Okay Rachel, if you're sure. I'll do whatever I need to, to show them that I'm not out to get you." Quinn had been nervous around Rachel's fathers the first time she met them, but she expected at least a little hostility after everything she'd put their daughter through. She would prove herself, she would show them.

"Good." Rachel couldn't wipe the smile from her face. "Alright, so you go back to Puck's house and get your necessities and I'll see you back at my place?"

"Absolutely. I shouldn't be longer than half an hour. I'll see you then."

Both girls vacated the room, made their way to their cars and parted ways. As Rachel sat in her car before leaving the school parking lot, she took a minute to think to herself. _Should I be this excited about having a friend sleep over? Happy, sure, but excited enough to have my stomach doing flips?_

A little over 45 minutes later, the door at the Berry household received a knock and Rachel was making her way over to answer it. Knowing who the guest would be, she straightened out her hair and clothes with her hands, suddenly caring a little too much about looking attractive and presentable for the blonde.

"Come on in, Quinn!" Rachel greeted with her megawatt smile. "Would you like something to drink, any food?"

"Water will be fine, thank you."

Quinn follows Rachel through to the kitchen, where both of Rachel's fathers are sitting at the table. A feeling of fear shoots through Quinn's body as she realises that she is yet to have a conversation with the two men. She knew they were aware of her past with Rachel, which made her naturally concerned about how the loving and protective fathers would react to her sudden presence in their diva's life.

"Hello Quinn, it's nice to see you again." Michael spoke with a gentle and welcoming tone, something the blonde didn't feel she deserved. Although her first visit to the Berry house didn't allow her to talk to Rachel's dads that much, she gathered that Michael was the one who was more willing to forgive.

"Good evening, Mr and Mr Berry. Thank you for having me this weekend."

Rachel smiled to herself at how polite Quinn was. She put it down to the blonde's structured and strict upbringing. However, one thing Rachel found herself getting rapidly aggravated about was the fact that her other father, Marcus, seemed to refuse to speak to the blonde. She didn't understand why he couldn't forgive her. She had, so why was it so hard for him to?

"Come on Quinn, we'll go up to my room."

The blonde obediently followed Rachel as she guided the way to her bedroom. After entering Rachel's room, she set her bag down on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, never dropping the stiffness from her shoulders. Rachel closed her door and walked over to Quinn, sitting next to her and counting the silent seconds that ticked by.

"I'm sorry about my father. I don't want him to make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, Rach, it's fine. It's no less than I deserve. I just hope that by the end of this weekend he can see that I'm really trying to be a friend here."

Quinn hated herself for what she'd done to the diva in the past and not being given a chance from Marcus was providing constant reminders of the hell she put Rachel through. _I'll make it right. I'll make it all right. I'll put everything right and make it up to her. _Quinn repeated this in her head like a mantra.

Not wanting to have a bad start to their getting-to-know-you-better weekend, Rachel informed Quinn she'd be right back and quickly popped out of the room to head downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she put some popcorn into the microwave and went over to speak to her dads while she waited.

"Daddy, I know you're looking out for me, and you know I love you because you've always been so protective of me, but you _have to_ give Quinn a break. She's really trying, Daddy. We haven't got an amazing past, but I really believe she's changed and she wants us to be friends. Please, for me, just give her a chance. She's petrified that you're going to hate her and not even give her a chance to prove herself."

Marcus shifted his eyes to Michael in the hope of some support, but realised it was no use when his husband returned to his newspaper. "Sweetheart, I know you're set on giving her another chance, but after the torture she's put you through I'm not so sure she deserves one. You've always been too forgiving and this is something I've always worried about with you. But, I know it's not my place to tell you what to do because you're growing up. All I can do, as a parent, is give you guidance and advice whenever you seek it. I'll be pleasant to Quinn, but I _will_ be paying close attention to her behaviour this weekend."

Rachel knew it was best to leave the conversation as it was because she knew this was the best she'd get out of the stubborn man. It was obvious to see who she'd inherited her stubbornness from. She kissed Marcus on the cheek – afterwards doing the same to Michael so he wouldn't feel left out – and retreated to the kitchen to get the popcorn. She returned to her room to find Quinn in the exact same position as she had left her, causing a slight giggle to break from her lips.

"What's so funny?" Quinn said with an amused yet confused expression.

"You need to relax, Quinn. You look like you're scared to move. Please, just relax. Here," Rachel handed the bowl to the blonde. "Have some popcorn and loosen up a little. For tonight, we'll just watch movies and pig out a little. My fathers are out for the evening tomorrow, so it'll give us a better chance to talk and get to know more about each other."

Rachel positioned herself on one side of the bed, getting comfortable and then patting the space next to her to signal that Quinn should join her.

"Unless you're planning to eat all that popcorn to yourself, I suggest you scoot over here so I can have some too!" Rachel smirked and eyed Quinn, who giggled and shook her head, but moved over to the brunette.

"Now, hush. The movie is about to start, so I hope you're not one of these people who talks during movies!"

"What, kind of like you're doing right now?" Rachel teased.

Both girls quit talking and kept their eyes glued to the television screen the entire way through the three movies they watched. Quinn let out a yawn, followed by a stretch, and looked as though she hadn't slept in a week. Rachel took this as a sure sign that it was time for the two girls to get some sleep. She told Quinn to get into the bed, went to shut off the light and got back under the bed cover herself.

"Goodnight, Quinn. Thank you for being here this weekend, I'm glad you agreed to it."

The only response Rachel got was a light breathing noise coming from the girl next to her. Quinn had already fallen asleep. The smaller girl reached her fingers out, brushing a fallen lock of blonde hair behind Quinn's ear and smiled at the sight in front of her. Before rolling over and succumbing to sleep, she thought to herself about the affections she was beginning to feel whenever she was around Quinn. _This is definitely going to be a long weekend. _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Part 2 of the previous chapter. Thank you all so much for reviewing the last one and I hope you enjoy what I've done with this segment. Love to all you guys for the support. 3**

Quinn slowly opened her eyes at the feeling of the sun shining on her face through the window. She felt slightly pinned down and took a second to remember where she was. She turned her head slightly to the left and noticed that Rachel's head rested on her shoulder, while her arm was thrown across Quinn's stomach. She couldn't stop the shy smile that appeared on her face, not giving a second thought to why she felt elated about the smaller girl curling up to her in her sleep. Hesitantly, she gently attempted to move Rachel's arm without disturbing her so she could go to the bathroom, but she felt Rachel stir. Rachel's eyes fluttered open in the most angelic and beautiful way that Quinn had ever seen – _What the fuck, Fabray? _

"Morning, sleepy head."

Rachel took in her position. "Oh, Quinn, I'm sorry. So sorry. I didn't mean to become that close to you in my sleep. I have been known to move around quite a lot in my sleep, I should've warned you. I'm so sorry."

"Rach, it's alright. It wasn't exactly the worst way to wake up, so don't apologise." Quinn didn't even know where that come from and found herself unable to stop her mouth before the words came spilling out. Rachel blushed an adorable tinge of pink and she swept her hair behind her ear.

"Would you like some breakfast? We have bacon, or I can do pancakes."

"I thought you were vegan, yet you have bacon? Care to explain that one Berry?" Quinn gave Rachel her best smirk and was modelling the famous Fabray eyebrow raise.

"It's quite simple, Quinn: I'm vegan but my fathers are not. They're in the same carnivore category as you, so we do buy meat. However, they are fully aware that under no circumstances can their foul animal products be anywhere my food products." Rachel scrunched up her nose at the very thought of her animal friendly foods being contaminated with vulgarity and murder.

All the talk about meat and bacon was driving Quinn crazy with hunger, so she got up off Rachel's bed and dragged her downstairs to the kitchen. Rachel giggled as Quinn sat on a stool at the breakfast bar expectantly.

Quinn gave the cheekiest smile Rachel had ever seen on another person's face. "Get to cookin' woman, I'm hungry. You can't just wave the idea of bacon in a girl's face and expect her to be calm. Chop chop!"

All Rachel could do was laugh as she went to work on Quinn's breakfast. She had a good feeling about the day as she could see that Quinn was quickly becoming comfortable enough to be herself around the brunette.

The entire day was spent with the girls lounging around Rachel's house, watching more DVDs and being generally lazy. It was four o'clock and already time for Rachel's dads to leave for the evening. They'd let the teens know that they'd be back the next afternoon and slipped out of the house after bidding the two a goodbye – and making sure they knew not to throw a huge party in their absence, of course. Rachel took this as the perfect time to start getting to know Quinn better.

"So, Quinn, how are you wanting to do this? Would you like to take turns asking questions, or is there another way you would feel comfortable doing this?"

"Uh, I was thinking maybe we could make something to eat first and then talk while we eat and afterwards?"

"Okay. That's a good idea." With that, Rachel got out the ingredients she needed to make a pasta dish and gave Quinn her tasks.

When the meal was ready and dished out, with the girls sitting at the table, Quinn decided that she'd been putting off this moment for long enough. She knew that if she wanted Rachel to see how much she'd changed and grown emotionally, that she needed to let her know about everything that's made her the way she was.

"There's a lot that you don't know about me, Rachel. A lot about my life, about why I am the way I am, why I'm so guarded, and bitchy, and why I've treated you and so many other people so bad. I know that you were probably wanting to get to know each other slowly, starting with the softer things, like my favourite colour, what songs I like to sing in the shower. But, I figured that getting the serious stuff out of the way first will be easier, because if I don't do it now, I probably never will."

Rachel reached over and grabbed Quinn's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We can talk at whatever pace you wish. I promise I will listen without judgement. So, continue at your own pace."

Quinn slowly nodded her head, sporting a barely-there sheepish smile. "Thank you. Do you know anything about my parents, Rachel?" With a swift shake of the head from Rachel, Quinn continued. "My father, Russell Fabray, the great Christian businessman. He brought both my sister and I up to obey the word of God, and more importantly, him. We had to be the perfect children; do what he said and don't ask questions. If we put a foot out of line, he made sure we'd never do it again. To outside eyes, Russell Fabray was an outstanding man, worthy of every ounce of respect you could possibly give. Perfect wife, perfect children, perfect life. People didn't see what we saw, behind closed doors. He drank a lot and often became violent in his drunken haze. The night that Finn came to my house and told my parents that I was pregnant, my father had never looked so crazed with rage and anger. He looked at me with disgust and hatred. He gave me half an hour to pack as much as I could and leave his house. Russell Fabray is considered the pride of Lima; he couldn't let it be known that his youngest daughter was with child. He told me he would rather I was dead than bringing such shame upon the family."

At this confession, Rachel's eyes went wider than she thought was physically possible. She didn't understand how a parent can say such despicable things to their own child. It was times like this that she was more than grateful for having two loving and supportive parents to guide her through life, parents who'd never throw her out of their house for making a mistake.

Quinn continued. "And then there's my mother. Judy Fabray. Emotional slave...verbal punch bag to her husband...drunk. When my dad told me leave, I expected her to put up some sort of fight. She didn't. She just accepted his words and left the room with him. My mother hates to think of people talking about her like she's the local gossip. God forbid if her children are in the rumour mill, because that means it's _absolutely_ the end of all things good in the world. It's pretty ridiculous, but it's the life I've been brought up in. Now, I have no parents because they've disowned me and I have nothing, but I can't think of all that because I have a little baby growing inside me, depending on me."

"Have you decided what to do when the baby's born?"

"No. I want to be a mother to this child, but how can I look after another person's life when I can't even look after myself right now? I'm living in Puck's basement, which just about fits me and my things in there. There's no way I could get a crib in there for the baby and I can't afford to go and live on my own. Plus, if I kept the baby, Puck's mom would become the babysitter while I was at school, and she hates me enough as it is. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable leaving my baby with her all day, every day. I just... I don't know. I have to think about what I'm going to do."

Rachel could hear the desperation and shakiness in Quinn's voice and figured it was best to stop discussing the baby. She didn't want the girl to get more upset than she needed to. She wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around Quinn, to let her know that everything would be just fine, but she didn't know if they were quite at that stage yet. Breaking her out of her thoughts, Quinn scooted her chair closer to Rachel's and put her head on the brunette's shoulder. Rachel took this as a good sign and wrapped her arm tightly around the girl's shoulders, in a hug that felt more comfortable than either of the girls might have admitted to.

"Thanks for listening to me, Rachel. I figured the best way to get to know me was to really open myself up to you in ways that I might be viewed as vulnerable. I guess I am in a way, and though I'll never really admit it to most people, I'm scared out of my wits right now."

At the admission, Rachel felt Quinn snuggle more into her. "I can't begin to imagine the hardships you're going through right now, but I can tell you now you won't be alone through them. I know our relationship hasn't always been the best, far from it, but I'm here for you Quinn. I promise you."

Quinn smiled, her eyes shining bright with unshed tears. All of a sudden, she felt swarmed with support, love and all the affection she'd been crying out for since she got pregnant. It baffled her how this girl who she'd constantly tortured was the person who was opening her arms to her, both physically and emotionally. She curled even further into Rachel, getting so close that she swore they almost became one person.

Right then, in that moment when Quinn was letting her most vulnerable side be on show, Rachel knew that this would be a major turning point for the two girls. She never thought her former bully would be the person she'd be in this kind of situation with, but she honestly felt more comfortable than she ever thought she would. Quinn was letting her pain be visible, showing Rachel everything she felt inside. She was releasing all the inner turmoil she'd been suffering with. Rachel knew she had to do everything she could to help; she couldn't let her new friend drown in her despair.

After watching a movie downstairs, the two head up to Rachel's room to go to bed. After getting their pyjamas on – both in thin cotton shorts and spaghetti strap vests – the girls got themselves tucked into Rachel's warm bed. They found themselves silently looking at each other, both searching the other's eyes for something they couldn't quite figure out.

"Rach?"

"Yes, Quinn?"

There was a slight pause before Quinn continued. "You're an amazing, and I have a feeling you don't get told that all too often. I'm going to do everything I can to change things for you. I swear it."

"I... thank you. You didn't have to say that, but it means a lot to me. I understand that I probably don't help matters for myself. I talk too much, I have high opinions, I'm usually too determined to get to where I want to be that I don't take other people into consideration. I know I'm hard to like, but sometimes I'd like people to at least _try_ to understand why I am the way I am. Being the girl who's the daughter of two men in a conservative town automatically set me up to be taunted, which is part of the reason why my dads enrolled me into acting, singing and dancing classes at such a young age. They knew how hard I'd have it growing up and they wanted to do everything they to try and help me get out of this hick town. People's opinions of me and my life never set me back with my dreams, but it has caused me to have a poor social life due to a lack of friends and a low confidence when it comes to speaking to people. Sometimes I worry that I won't get to make my dream come true, but I think that's more because I'm scared of being stuck here for the rest of my life."

In the moonlit room, Quinn could see a single tear roll down Rachel's cheek. She reached out her hand and wiped it away with her thumb, meanwhile keeping the palm of her hand pressed to her cheek. "Rachel, look at me."

The brunette shook her head and closed her eyes, but Quinn used a more stern tone of voice. "Rachel. I said look at me." This time, the diva done as she was told and Quinn carried on speaking. "You do nothing wrong, you've never done anything wrong. You've done nothing to make people treat you the way they have. They way _I _have. Yes, you have two gay dads. Yes, you're determined and stubborn. Yes, you talk a lot. But all those things make you Rachel Berry, future Broadway star. Don't ever wish to be anything but yourself, because you're a beautiful person, inside and out. No matter what people like me have always told you, because that was and will always be out of jealousy. You're not going to stay here forever, I know that. Out of all the people I know, you're the one person who's got enough determination to actually get out. You'll make it, Rach. I know you will."

With that, Rachel's emotions became too much for her and she shuffled all the way up to Quinn and cried. She cried for her own pain, she cried for Quinn's pain, she cried for this change that was happening between the two girls. As she let every ounce of pain out of her body through her tears, she was putting to rest the years of hurt and pain that she'd suffered at the hand of other people. Even if the slushies carried on at school, even if the name calling didn't stop, she knew she'd be okay because she finally had someone who she could call a real friend.

Rachel woke up first the next morning and the first thing she realised was that she'd fell asleep crying in Quinn's arms. Her face felt slightly sticky with dried up tears and she felt the beginning of a headache forming in the front of her eyes. With a small stretch, she carefully rolled out of Quinn's grasp and got up off the bed. She grabbed a towel out of her closet and walked over to her bathroom, in desperate need of a shower.

Quinn woke to an empty bed and the sound of running water. _Rachel must be in the shower_, she thought to herself as she tried to gain a better focus on the room around her. She felt groggy from staying awake so late in an attempt to comfort Rachel. She'd known the brunette's crying had drained her energy and had fallen asleep, and she didn't have the heart to untangle herself and Rachel. She didn't know where this sudden protective nature came from as she remembered her promise to make everything better for Rachel. However, it wasn't something she was going to let herself think about because she truly _wanted_ to take away Rachel's heartache and loneliness.

Now sitting up in Rachel's bed, she heard the water in the bathroom shut off and the door opened, giving her a glimpse of the brunette in nothing but a short towel. For a second her breath caught in her throat and she felt her mouth go dry at the sight of Rachel's legs on show, water rolling down them in the slowest motion she'd ever seen.

"Morning!" Rachel squeaked in the happiest voice she could muster.

"Morning. Nice shower?"

"It was lovely, thank you."

Quinn smiled at Rachel, got out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower before breakfast. She was cleaned and dressed within twenty minutes and was bounding down the stairs with Rachel so they could make breakfast. When they got into the kitchen, they found Rachel's fathers already cooking food.

"Morning, princess," Michael said, giving the diva a kiss on her head. "Morning, Quinn. I hope you two had a lovely weekend. We're just cooking breakfast seeing as we thought you girls wouldn't have eaten yet. Pancakes okay?"

"That'd be lovely, Dad."

Quinn and Rachel sat at the table waiting for their breakfast to be served to them, after Quinn had politely offered to help the two men. "Nonsense, Quinn. You're our guest," Marcus had told her. Once the pancakes were cooked, the four of them sat down and ate together, sharing small talk about their weekends.

The time soon came when Quinn had to go back to the Puckerman household. She felt her good mood falter as she realised she didn't want to leave Rachel. They'd had a great weekend together and shared plenty of laughs, smiles and tears. She could feel the new closeness between her and Rachel and she found herself not wanting to part ways with her new companion. Quinn kindly thanked the men for allowing her to spend the weekend with Rachel and for breakfast, heading over to the front door.

"I'll walk you to the car, Quinn," Rachel offered, following closely but reluctantly.

As the two girls were standing by the car, Quinn's keys in hand ready to go, neither girl really knew what they should say or do. Not particularly enjoying the silence, Quinn spoke up. "I've actually had an amazing weekend with you. Who knew we could spend an entire weekend together without killing or maiming each other?"

Rachel smiled at the sarcasm in the latter part of Quinn's reflection. "Well, maybe we just have a lot more in common than people would've ever realised. But I've also enjoyed myself. It was nice seeing another side of you, Quinn. I just feel honoured that I was the person you allowed yourself to be, well, yourself around. So, thank you for that."

"I found myself being a lot more comfortable with you than most other people, so I really couldn't be anything but myself. Anyway, I'd better get Puck's car back to him. He'll be having a shit fit if I keep it any longer than I already have; he wasn't happy about me having it all weekend. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Rach."

With that, she enveloped the smaller girl into the closest, yet tender embrace that she could, wanting to convey all these brand new thoughts and feelings she was experiencing because of Rachel. She wanted her to understand that she was no longer ashamed to be friends with her; she would no longer allow to abuse and taunting that Rachel had to endure.

The two broke from the hug a short while after, allowing Quinn to get in the car and Rachel to walk back to her house. Rachel had a very good feeling about school the next day. She could definitely get used to this side of Quinn, she just hoped that the blonde kept it up at school.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews so far. I hope you all liked the girls' weekend together. I kind of wanted that to be a major turning point for them, especially on Quinn's part. But I will tell you, don't necessarily get your hopes up! I haven't decided where I want to take parts of this story, because I think it'd be pretty boring if everything was amazing all the time between them. I'll just see what happens! ;)**

The kids in Glee club noticed a change. Mr Schuester noticed a change. Most of the school noticed a change. Throughout the school week, noticeable and obvious changes could be seen between Rachel and Quinn; Quinn would smile instead of scowl at the smaller girl in the hallway; Rachel would sit next to Quinn instead of four rows behind in their shared classes. Out of everyone in the whole school, there was one person who had the biggest problem with understanding the new found friendship between the two girls. Santana Lopez.

Santana spoke as she always did when she was being offensive and insulting; with a smirk. "Look, Q. I can completely understand that you want to give Chewbacca a pity friendship, but don't you think you're taking this a bit far? I mean, you're socialising with it at school. I'd say that was definitely too far for a joke."

"First of all, S, quit calling her names. Her name is Rachel. R-a-c-h-e-l. Rachel. Say it enough times and you might be able to manage it. Secondly, this isn't a joke. I'm friends with her. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of treating people like shit who don't deserve it. She's _never_ deserved any of the shit we put her through and I'm done with that. If you actually took the time, you'd find out that she's not the person we thought she was, and she's actually not annoying at all. She's pretty fun to be around."

"Oh. God, Q. What's she done to you? I think I liked you better when you were ordering slushies for people like her."

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a Cheerio anymore, because I'm pregnant. You should try it, I think it'd do wonders for your bitchy attitude."

"Whatever Q," and with that, Santana turned and dashed down the hall to find Brittany.

At the end of the day, a five month pregnant Quinn went on the hunt for Noah Puckerman so she could get her ride home with him. When she couldn't find him anywhere in the school she decided to go and check the parking lot to see if his car was still there. A bad feeling crept over her that she'd have to walk back to the house that she was now residing in, which would take her about forty-five minutes on foot. The thought made her groan with displeasure. She walked out of the main doors and looked over to where Puck's car was usually parked. Just as she feared: gone. She internally screamed and reminded herself to slap Puck over the back of the head for leaving her stranded at school. _I'm only carrying his fucking baby, no big deal,_ she thought to herself.

She started heading towards the gate out of the school when she heard footsteps behind her. "Quinn?"

She knew that voice anywhere and turned around with a fake smile. "Hey, Rachel."

"What's up? You look annoyed. Has Santana upset you or something?"

"No. It's just... Puck's an ass. He was supposed to give me a ride home today and he's left without me."

"Oh. That's not very chivalrous of him. I'll be having words with Noah about this. Come on, I'll give you a ride over to his house."

Quinn's features automatically softened and her smile became more genuine. Her smile deepened when Rachel grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her car. The drive over to Puck's house was filled with laughter and singing from the girls and within fifteen minutes, they were outside the Puckerman residence. Quinn leaned over to Rachel's sit, wrapped the girl in a hug and whispered a thank you in her ear. Rachel shivered at the feeling of Quinn's breath sweep over her neck and ear and the two girls said their goodbyes.

Before Quinn could shut the car door, Rachel called out to her. "Quinn, could you send Noah out here please? Tell him there's something I wish to discuss with him."

"Um, okay. See you tomorrow Rach."

Within a minute, Puck was letting himself into the passenger seat of Rachel's car. "What's up, Berry? Q said you wanted to talk to me. Have you finally decided to take me up on my offer?"

Rachel looked at Puck with disgust as the hormone filled boy wriggled his eyebrows at her. "No, Noah, and I will never take you up on your disgusting offer. Actually, I want to talk to you about Quinn. What in the world were you thinking, leaving her in the school to make her own way home? If I hadn't have been there, she might have had to take the long walk here! Noah, she's five months pregnant with _your _baby. You should be taking care of her, making sure her and the baby are fine, not still acting like a selfish idiot who doesn't care about anyone or anything apart from getting his leg over!"

"Jeez, Berry. Calm the fuck down. When did you become Quinn's knight in shining armour anyways?"

"It's not about that, Noah. It's about the fact that she's having a baby and she needs looking after. You can't just leave her at school to make her own way home. You're an idiot, Noah Puckerman, and now I want you to get out of my car and go take care of the mother of your unborn child."

With that, Puck stepped out of Rachel's car and watched her drive away, wondering what the hell kind of parallel universe he'd stepped into. When he got back into his house, Quinn was sitting on the sofa in the living room talking to his little sister. She knew something had happened by the look on his face and she automatically jumped to the brunette's defence.

"What did you do to Rachel?"

"Huh? I didn't do anything to her! In fact, _she _attacked _me. _Verbally, that is. As soon as I got in the car she jumped down my throat. Some shit about how I'm a selfish idiot for leaving you after school and not facing up to my responsibility for this kid. She said I should be looking after you."

Quinn didn't know what to say. She'd never been so speechless. She felt a warm sensation in her chest at the admission of Rachel's blatant concern for her and her baby. In all her life, she never thought it could feel this nice having someone on her side, sticking up for her. By the time she'd snapped out of her thoughts, Puck had already left the room, so she picked up her school bag and headed down to the basement. She couldn't bring herself to think of it as her room, because it wasn't her home and she didn't belong there.

Rachel walked into her house and called out to let her dads know that she was home. She followed their voices and it took her to the kitchen, where both men were happily dancing around the room together.

"You two are crazy."

"Yes, just a little, sweetheart. But you love us all the same. Besides, we have a diva to look after 24/7 and she's pretty demanding. We have to be at least a _little_ crazy," he said with a cheeky wink.

"Hey!" Rachel gave her best pout.

"You know we love you, princess," Marcus stated as he walked over to Rachel and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

Rachel walked over to the kitchen table and sat down on a chair. Michael took one look at Rachel's posture and the look on her face and he knew straight away that there was something on her mind.

"What is it kiddo?"

Rachel was never surprised by the men having the ability to practically read her mind. They always knew when she had something she needed to discuss or when she had a problem.

"Dad, Daddy, there's something I need to speak to you about, and before you judge or jump in, I want you to fully and completely hear me out. As you know, Quinn is due to have a baby in four months time and she's living with the father, Noah Puckerman. She's living in his basement, not her own bedroom, a basement. She has a tiny, hard bed that she sleeps on and from what I've been able to gather, she doesn't get the nutrition that she needs from Noah's mother. There's absolutely no room for her _and_ a baby – if she decides to keep it, that is. We have a spare bedroom that doesn't get used and it's already perfectly set up for use. There's a king size bed that's going to waste in there and the fridge is always stacked with food. I want Quinn to move in here, if she agrees, of course. Now, before you jump to say no, I want you to consider how great this would be for her. She has no family, most of the people she thought were her friends are now laughing at her at school and she's living in a basement. Not to mention the fact that in a very short while, she's going to become a parent and she has the stress of deciding whether or not to keep her baby. I just think living here would be more beneficial for both her and the baby. I can assure you that our friendship is nothing as it used to be, we get on better than we ever have. Please, at least just think about it."

After Rachel had finished her long-winded rant, her fathers shared a knowing glance and looked back to their daughter. "Rachel," Michael started. "Provided that she agrees to it and that it's what she wants, Quinn can live here."

Rachel almost had to do a double take because she literally couldn't believe her ears. "I'm sorry... what? I was expecting some sort of argument over this."

"Rachel," Marcus started. "Your father and I know how hard it is to be shunned by your family. I know I didn't like Quinn when I first met her, given your past, but as soon as I learned that she was pregnant and had been disowned by her parents, my heart softened towards her. You remember when I told you about my parents and how they shut me out when I told them I was gay? I know exactly what Quinn is going through and I know that she needs a place with people who will care for her and shower her with love."

"Dad, daddy, you guys are the best. Thank you, so much."

Rachel rushed up to the guest room to make preparations, hoping so desperately that Quinn would agree to what she'd be asking her the next day.

Rachel's excitement for school that day was undeniable. She had a free during second period and she knew Quinn did too – seeing as that was one of the few classes the two girls shared, she knew Quinn would be roaming the halls – so she set out on a hunt for the blonde.

Just ten minutes later, she found Quinn in the library reading over one of her papers she needed to have completed for the afternoon. She walked over to the table she was settled at and pulled out the seat next to her. "Do you mind if I join you, Quinn? There's something I need to discuss with you. It's of great importance."

Quinn smiled politely at the girl. "Of course, take a seat. What's up?"

Rachel sat down in the chair and steadied her breath, suddenly feeling incredibly anxious and overwhelmed with nerves. "Well, I don't want you to feel like I'm being out of line or butting into your life, because that's honestly not my intention. I consider the two of us to be friends now, Quinn, so when I say what I'm about to say, please remember that and please, hear me out before you answer. I've been speaking to my fathers about your situation, Quinn – not that they didn't already know, as you are aware. Both my fathers and I came to the conclusion that your living situation right now isn't the best and it definitely isn't good for the baby. I pointed out that we have a perfectly good spare bedroom that has never been in use, with a king size bed, a walk-in wardrobe and a personal bathroom. Dad and daddy agreed with me, and we would like to offer that room to you. You need somewhere comfortable to live, somewhere that you _and_ the baby will get looked after the way you should be. I know the idea of living with me might seem like a bit of a nightmare because, let's face it, I'm a diva and I'm pretty high maintenance. But you'd have a real bedroom to yourself, perfectly healthy meals and whatever else you could possibly want or need."

"Wow, Rach. I... I don't know what to say. I really don't. I mean... a month ago, we didn't speak apart from when I was calling you vulgar names. Now you're offering me a place to live. How could I take that offer with our past? I thought you being my friend was too kind, but you offering me a house to live in is definitely about ten marks above that."

"Quinn, please don't think about our past. I know it might seem inevitable, but don't. You need a suitable home and we're offering you one. We're friends now and I want to help you. More than anything, I want to be there for you. So do my dads. Will you let us?"

"Rach, I..."

"Don't answer now. Take the rest of the day to think about it. We have Glee after school; tell me your answer then. Okay?"

Quinn nods and Rachel silently bids Quinn goodbye, before she gets up and leaves Quinn to think about the offer the brunette had made. The blonde doesn't know what to think right now, and she definitely doesn't know whether she should accept the offer or not. She knows she _wants_ to, she wants to so badly, because finally she's being offered affection, and love, and a place she can call home. But she's Quinn Fabray – _we have our pride, that's what it means to be a Fabray._

Did Quinn already sacrifice every single ounce of pride she had when she slept with Puck and got pregnant? That was what she needed to think about.

Quinn felt like she'd barely had a minute to think about Rachel's offer before she was sat in Glee, not really listening to Mr Schuester talk about the next crappy assignment he wanted to set them. His ideas were never really up to scratch and they always pissed off at least one person.

He finally wrapped up the lesson after telling the gang to work hard on their assignments. Quinn made her way slowly over to Rachel as all the others began to depart. As Puck walked past her, he told her he'd wait outside the classroom for her seeing as he was her ride home, so with a quick nod of her head she continued over to Rachel. "Hey, Rach."

"Afternoon, Quinn. Did you think much about my offer?"

"Yeah, actually, I did. Well, up until Glee I didn't know what my decision was. Mr Schue droning on kind of made me zone out and I could think about nothing else. Can we sit for a minute?"

"Sure," Rachel said with a smile, as she lead Quinn over to two chairs situated near them.

Quinn continued. "I had to think about whether I had anymore pride to sacrifice and if I did, was I willing to sacrifice what was left. Being a Fabray... it's always been about pride. Not letting anyone help you because you're not willing to give up your pride. I'd already given up every ounce of self-respect and dignity I had when I got pregnant. Was I willing to sacrifice anything else by admitting defeat and letting someone finally take care of me? Then I realised... it's not about losing my pride. It's about letting people in. It's about letting people see what I've been hiding for the past five months. Loneliness, fear, abandonment, hurt. I also realised that I'm ready to finally do that. I trust you and your fathers, Rachel. I really, honestly do. And, if the offer still stands, I'd like to accept."

Rachel beamed, brighter than Quinn had ever seen the girl do. She thought the smile would rip the girl's face apart, it was so wide. Quinn suddenly found herself wrapped into Rachel, her air supply almost being cut off with how tightly the brunette was holding her.

"Oh, Quinn! I'm so happy you're willing to agree to this! Thank you, so much! Dad and Daddy will be ecstatic!"

The two girls walked into the hallway together, Quinn completely forgetting about Puck until she bumped right into him.

"Hi, Noah," the ever polite Rachel spoke. "Quinn won't be in need of your assistance in driving her home. In fact, as of this evening, Quinn is moving in with me and my fathers."

Puck just looked at Quinn, mouth gaping. "What's going on, Q?"

"It's exactly as Rachel just told you, Puck. I'm moving out of your house and into hers. Her and her dads have offered me their spare bedroom, because Lord knows I can't take another night on that damn bed in the basement. It's not good for me and it's not good for our baby. Besides, we all know your mom hates my guts and I can't live somewhere where I'm constantly getting glares from across the room. So, we're going to collect my things from your house and move it into Rachel's."

"Oh. Um. I guess that's cool. I mean, I don't really have a say because I know how uncomfortable you are down in the basement. I guess it's better for you and the kid, y'know, resting better and everything. I guess I'll see you back at my place."

With that, Puck walked down the hallway and out to the parking lot so he could make the drive home. Quinn and Rachel followed moments later and headed towards Rachel's car, following the route that Puck took to his house. It took Quinn less than half an hour to pack up her belongings and begin the journey with Rachel over to the Berry residence.

When the girls arrived, the Berry men were standing in the driveway, knowing that Quinn had agreed to move in, through a text from Rachel. Quinn stepped out of the car as soon as they parked and walked over to Michael and Marcus.

"Thank you guys, thank you so, so much. I can't even tell you how grateful I am for what you're both doing for me." Quinn couldn't help the tears that were now rapidly making their way down her cheeks. The two men both pulled her into a close embrace and she could feel their warmth. She could feel everything she'd been missing for the past five months of her life. She felt safe. She knew everything was going to be alright, because she knew she finally had a _home_ – not just a house – and she knew she once again had people she could call a family.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I **_**still **_**don't own Glee. I know, right? When the hell will I catch a break? ;)**

**A/N: I love you guys so much for reviewing! Seriously, it means the world. It's nice to see that you're all waiting to see the reactions of certain characters! Enjoy. **

It was Sunday night and Quinn had spent her first weekend in her new home with the Berry family. The entire Saturday had consisted of Berry men making sure the girl felt comfortable in her new surroundings. They took her shopping after insisting that she let them get things that'd make it feel like her bedroom, like home.

The girls were getting ready to go to bed because they had school the next day. For the first two nights that Quinn had been there, she had practically begged Rachel to stay in her new bedroom with her. Rachel had comforted Quinn when she had tears running down her face; sometimes out of happiness and gratitude, others out of sadness and loss over her family. She knew this was it; she had a new home with a new family. They were great, she knew that, but they weren't _hers_.

Rachel dutifully followed Quinn into her bedroom without even saying a word. The two girls got into the bed and found themselves shuffling close together. After a few minutes of silence, Quinn caught Rachel's attention.

"Hey Rach? Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course, Quinn. What's on your mind?"

"I just want to say thanks, for all of this. Letting me live here, but most of all for the past two nights. I know I must look pathetic, but I'm just so overwhelmed by everything. I've done nothing to be so deserving of your comfort, but you give it to me anyway, and I really am so grateful for it all. You've done more for me than anyone has these past few months. I don't know how I can repay you, but I will some day."

"Quinn," Rachel breathes so softly, Quinn's sure she could be some sort of angel. "You never have to repay me. I couldn't let you suffer alone or uncomfortably. You know me and the other Glee members are here for you, we always will be. You and I are on a different path than what we used to be. Please, stop thinking you don't deserve this. I care about you, and I refuse to let you beat yourself up about the past. I'm here, whenever you need me. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. If you need someone to hold you, I'm here. If you need someone to yell at, I'm here. Anything you need me to be, I will be. Just say the word."

Quinn felt her eyes tear up once again, even though she told herself there'd be no more crying. Rachel didn't need to see her in these states and she didn't want her to have to. Before she could stop them, her tears were running freely and Rachel scooped her up in her arms like she was a child. She felt like she had a protector in the brunette, which just brought another onslaught of tears.

Rachel held the girl for a while longer before she felt her breathing calm down. She expected Quinn to say something – it was usually an apology after she'd cried like this – but when she didn't hear a thing from the girl, she looked down. Quinn had cried herself to sleep in Rachel's arms. The brunette placed a hand on Quinn's cheek as gently as she could in order not to wake the girl, swiping away the remaining tears on her face and leaned down to place a soft kiss to her forehead. With the blonde cheerleader in her arms and a small smile on her face, she followed Quinn into the land of dreams.

XXX

Monday morning found Rachel and Quinn driving to school in Rachel's car, both girls well rested after a full weekend of blissful sleep. Quinn felt extremely grateful to Rachel for everything she was doing for her; letting her move in, providing her with a new loving family, but most of all right now, she was thankful that Rachel had been fine with sleeping next to Quinn, comforting her in the dead of the night.

Pulling into the parking lot and shutting off the engine, Rachel looked over at Quinn with a gentle smile. "I'll understand if you don't want to be seen with me at school. I wouldn't expect you to be publically nice to me just because we live together now."

It was impossible for Quinn to hide the look of hurt that immediately flashed across her face. "Rach, I...do you really think I'd do that, even now? We've been through this, and while I know I don't deserve to have you have faith in me, I need you to just believe me and have a little trust in me. Things aren't going to be the same, I promise you. I'll promise you this and I'll show you until you believe me. I'm not going to be that person with you anymore, because deep down that was never _me_."

"I know, Quinn. I know that, deep down. It's just... you must be able to understand my hesitation to be so trusting. I just don't want to get hurt again, not by you."

At the confession, Quinn reached over and grabbed one of Rachel's hands, trapping it between her two. "Hey, look at me," Quinn said with conviction and strength, making full eye contact with the brunette. "I'm not going to hurt you. I will swear that with my life. I'm never, ever going to hurt you again. I care about you too much to do that. You've given me so much, after everything I've put you through, and I'm not going to ruin this. Please, trust me."

"Okay, Quinn. I believe you," Rachel sounded as sure as she could. She wanted Quinn to know that she did believe her when she promised not to cause her any further pain.

After sharing a coy smile, the two girls got out of Rachel's car and made their way into their school, parting ways to go to their separate classes. They wouldn't see each other for the first three classes, so Quinn had promised Rachel that they would have lunch together. Rachel was simply elated. Such a small promise meant the world to the diva, for she knew that not a whole lot of people wanted to spend time with her. This was the most excitement she'd felt for lunch at school since she could remember. Nothing could ruin her day, as far as she was concerned.

XXX

Quinn shared her second period with Santana; Geography. Usually, the Latina would be absent for that class because she loathed both the subject and the teacher. However, today, Santana was sat two tables in front of Quinn, twirling a piece of her hair with her index finger. A feeling of suspicion fell over the ex cheerleader as she wondered why Santana was all of a sudden showing an appearance at the class she hated most.

At the end of second period, Quinn found Santana waiting for her outside the classroom door. "What the hell is wrong with you, Q?"

Quinn was completely taken aback by the harshness of her friend's voice. "Um, I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, I should imagine you are, going to live with that hobbit."

"Hey! Leave her alone, Santana. Just what is your problem with me living at her house? She's given me a home and a family, which, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't had for the past five months."

"If you needed somewhere to live, you could've come to me."

Rather than touched by the sentiment, Quinn was outraged. "Oh, because you were my number one friend when it got out that I was pregnant, right? You laughed along with everyone else and talked shit with the other Cheerios, too. You were supposed to be my friend and you stabbed me in the back like the rest of them. So why in the hell would I have gone to you?"

Santana couldn't hide the unmistakeable look of guilt in her eyes. "I know, and I'm sorry about that. But you know how I am, Q. I have a reputation to protect and I had to work even harder to do so after everyone found out you were pregnant. One slip and I would've been off the top of the ladder that I've worked so hard to climb up. I know that makes me a shitty friend, but I'm still your friend."

Quinn walked away, but before turning the corner she turned back to her alleged friend. "Then you need to go and look up the definition of a friend, S. Friends don't kick friends while they're already on the floor."

XXX

Rachel was on her way to meet Quinn for lunch, but needed to make a quick stop at her locker to put her books away. As she finished up, she closed her locker and turned around to walk towards the cafeteria, when she was met with feisty looking Santana right in front of her. She had two smaller but equally scary looking cheerleaders flanking her, glaring at her like she was a piece of dirt on the ground. She gulped when she saw that the two other girls were holding large slushie cups.

"S-Santana. Um, what can I do for you?"

"Save the small talk, midget," Santana voiced with such disgust and hatred. "Quit trying to be Quinn's hero. She doesn't need you, she doesn't even like you."

"Th-things are different now, Santana. As you know, she lives with my family now. Things have changed with me and Quinn, I don't know why you have such a problem accepting that."

Santana looked Rachel up and down one last time. "Accept this, dwarf. Ladies."

Before Rachel could attempt to dodge out of the way, she felt the ice cold sting of the liquid cover her face and body. She heard the mixture of laughter from the three girls and heard them walking away from her. She could hear the laughter of other students now, and she made a hasty exit to the nearest bathroom, overwhelmed with humiliation and emotional exhaustion.

XXX

Quinn was sat at a table in the cafeteria waiting for Rachel. She should've been there by now. Quinn got a bad feeling that something was wrong; Rachel was never, ever, _ever_, late. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Santana enter the room and part with two Cheerios, who she recognised. The same two girls walked past her table just moments later and she heard them giggling about the "stupid tranny" who couldn't hold in her tears.

Immediately she knew why Rachel was late, and knowing where the girl would go, she set off in the direction of the toilets. She knew perfectly where Rachel would be due to the amount of times she'd seen the girl run in there after she'd received a slushie from Quinn's order.

Less than two minutes later, she barged her way through the toilet door and found Rachel on the floor against the wall. She had her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped around them, as though to comfort herself from the previous attack. Rachel looked up in fright at the forceful intrusion, only to be met with hurt and sympathetic eyes. Quinn couldn't help but feel hurt. Rachel's eyes were swollen from crying and she has tear streaks running freely down her face. The look of total heartache and isolation in Rachel's eyes was unmistakeable and she couldn't believe she'd put the smaller girl through this for so long.

She ran over and dropped to her knees in front of Rachel, grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her as close as humanly possible into the most affectionate and apologetic hug that she could provide. Rachel immediately melted into her arms and began heaving sobs, more tears dripping down her face and onto Quinn's shirt.

"Oh god, Rach. I'm so, so, so sorry that I ever put you through this. I'm so sorry for what they've done to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Though Rachel could hear very little over her own sobs, she could make out Quinn's repeated apologies, and she thought it sounded like the blonde was apologising for a lifetime of abuse. Rachel lifted her head from Quinn's shoulder and looked deep into her eyes. She could plainly see tears in the blonde girl's eyes, tears that were viciously threatening to spill over and free themselves from the cage they were trapped in. Quinn didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it. Rachel looked so broken and, in that moment, so alone. She couldn't even begin to imagine the feelings that were cursing through Rachel's mind.

Without warning, Quinn removed herself from Rachel's grasp and stood up. "Go and wait in your car for me, Rach. We're going home. There's just something I have to do first, so I'll meet you out there."

Before Rachel could argue, Quinn was out the door and marching down the long corridor. She knew where the girl was going, she knew she was finally going to be defended by someone. Even though she didn't want Quinn to have a confrontation with Santana, or anyone for that matter, it still felt nice having someone who was willing to put themselves on the line for her. She got up from the floor, gave her face a quick wash at the sink and made her way to her car.

Quinn was furiously storming her way through the halls like a bat out of hell, with one target in mind. Never in her life had she been so angry, she felt bloodthirsty. As soon as she entered the cafeteria for the second time that day, she spotted Santana. She marched over to the Latina, who was standing next to a table holding Brittany, Kurt, Mercedes and Tina.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" She spat, as she pushed Santana.

"Calm your tits, preggo. Unless you want to keep your face the way it is, keep your hands to yourself. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You know exactly what's wrong! You fucking cornered Rachel in the hallway and set your little brain dead minions onto her. You can act all high and mighty with everyone, Santana, and you can make this whole school think that you're the toughest bitch around here, but I know you. You have no reason to attack Rachel like that; she's done _nothing_ to you. She was in the bathroom, on the floor, crying her heart out because she feels so fucking alone because you can't just accept that she's a good person. You're breaking her apart, don't you get that? You wonder why I didn't come to you when I needed somewhere to live. You're a monster. I'm not exactly the image of perfection because I've done the exact same thing to Rachel right along with you, but enough is enough."

Santana sneered. "What is it, Q? You want in Manhands pants? That's it, isn't it? All those pregnant hormones must be doing devilish things to your mind. You want RuPaul," she let out with a laugh.

Quinn saw red. "Jesus, would you get a grip already? Not everything boils down to sex, Santana. I'm looking out for Rachel because she was good enough to look out for me when I needed it the most. I'm not letting this carry on anymore. She doesn't deserve this, she never has and I'll be damned if I let you or your pathetic little bitches touch her ever again."

"You really think that'll make it stop? Big bad Quinn stepping up in her shining suit of armor. I don't think so, Q. You know as well as I do that the girls won't think twice about doing the same thing to you now that you're not one of us."

"Yeah, I do, because you aren't big enough to stop it. You're the head cheerleader, and all you do is hurt people, but you don't care. You know why? Because you're a bad person and an even worse friend. I've always known you were a bitch, I accepted that because we were still always friends. But you know what? I'm done. I'm done with this, I'm done with _you_. I'm sick of you walking around with your head higher than everyone else's because you know they're scared of you. Well, I'm not. I won't let you attack Rachel anymore, so leave her the fuck alone. I might not be head Cheerio anymore, but you know as well as I do that I can knock you on your ass, pregnant or not. I'm warning you, Santana. You leave Rachel alone."

Shaking and nauseous, Quinn walked away from the Latina and made her way through the school to get to Rachel's car outside. When she reached the car, she found Rachel sitting in the passenger seat, with her head down, tears still rolling down her face. She immediately got in the driver's seat, took the keys from Rachel and pulled the girl in for a hug.

Leaning her lips down to Rachel's ear, Quinn whispered so quietly that Rachel barely heard her. "Santana, the Cheerios, everyone at this school... I won't let them hurt you anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

Rachel leaned up and placed the gentlest of kisses to Quinn's cheek, causing the blonde's cheeks to blush furiously. Quinn put the keys in the ignition and started up the car, turning to smile at the girl sitting next to her.

"Let's go home. Your dads won't mind if we skip the rest of the day when I explain what happened. We'll sit around and watch movies all day."

She pulled the car out of the parking lot and drove the two girls back to their home.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Oh god, I am SO sorry it's been so long for an update! I've not been at home so I've not had my computer; I've been staying with my other half! I know I'm awful! Please forgive me! **

**A/N (2): This chapter will skip the rest of the school week and is looking at the weekend. It'll mainly focus on Quinn and Rachel spending time together and becoming closer. This chapter is kind of a filler (one which became longer than I'd planned on it being), because I've really hit a wall at this point. You'll learn what Rachel's dads do; the name of Michael's business is just a name I made up, so whether it's real I have no idea, ha. I hope this chapter doesn't suck **_**too**_** bad, I'm sorry if it does. **

**P.S. Just so you all should know, I'm from the UK, so I apologise if I'm not getting all the American spelling down accurately! Whenever I go to type the word "color", I kind of end up putting in the u just because it doesn't look right to me haha. So I apologise!**

The entire school week was filled with more arguments between Quinn and Santana than a person could count. Santana couldn't help putting in her two cents in about Quinn's living situation and, in her words, Quinn could "do better than to live with a troll". Throughout the week, Rachel found herself getting more and more hurt at Santana's words. She was used to the taunts and names from the Latina, she just didn't understand why. For some reason, this just felt different. Her and her fathers were doing a perfectly fine job of taking care of Quinn's pregnancy needs and she just couldn't fathom why Santana couldn't accept that.

On Friday evening, Marcus and Michael decided that they were going to restore the Berry family night. When Rachel was growing up, every other Friday the Berry men would sit down with their daughter and spend the evening playing games; with their careers they wanted Rachel to always know her parents were around to give her a happy and fun home life. Marcus worked as a doctor in the town's main hospital and Michael owned his own homeware store, Lima Buys. Although Marcus' job was more demanding, Michael was still a very busy man and even on his days off, he could often be called into work to sort out a problem. The two men came up with their game night so that, no matter how busy they were with work, they'd always be able to make time for their family.

Quinn and Rachel returned home from school and upon arrival, they were asked to join Rachel's dads at the table. Naturally, the two girls jumped to the assumption that they'd done something worthy of punishment. However, what they were met with was a complete surprise to them.

"Dad, daddy, what's all of this about?" Rachel gestured, as she waved her hands in the direction of the box-covered table.

Michael walked over to Rachel with a huge smile on his face and put his arm around her shoulders. "Surely you remember game night, sweetie?"

"Yes, of course, but that tradition has long died out, dad."

"I know, but your daddy and I had a talk chat this morning and we decided that we're bringing it back! Now that we have Quinn living with us, she's a part of this family. We started game night when you were younger because we always wanted you to have that family feel, and we want the same thing for Quinn. Not only that, but you remember how much fun we used to have."

Rachel smiled as she thought of the memories the three shared, the fun they used to have during their family time. "I think that's a great idea," she exclaimed, before turning to Quinn. "Quinn, you'll love family game night. My dads and I would always spend every other Friday playing games together and pigging out on junk food. I don't really know how, but it sort of faded out a few months after high school started."

Rachel lied. She knew why it stopped. When the bullying started, she found herself spiralling into a great depression, although she never let people – including her fathers – see that. She slowly found herself not in the right frame of mind to fully enjoy the games that Michael and Marcus had planned out. Eventually, Rachel's dads stopped trying to coax their daughter into doing something that seemed to fail in bringing her joy the way it once did. However, she didn't want to share this truth with Quinn because she was aware of how bad the girl still felt about their past.

Quinn spoke up, breaking Rachel from her thoughts. "It sounds like a lot of fun. We never had anything like that in my family. My father was always too uptight and formal for fun; our household was always more regimented than relaxed."

Michael slowly slipped away from Rachel and took Quinn into his arms. "Well, you're a part of this family now and you can have as much fun as you want here."

Quinn could only smile at the heartfelt words of Rachel's dad, as both girls were guided to the living room. The two men carried the boxes into the room and set them on the carpet, as all four of them sat on the floor and got comfortable.

"So girls," Marcus said, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. "What shall we play this evening?"

XXX

That evening, the Berry's and Quinn played the longest game of Monopoly that Quinn had ever played in her life. Even though the game was lasting a ridiculous length of time, the blonde found herself not wanting it to end because she was having such a wonderful night. After the game was finished – Rachel being the winner, of course – the family had ordered pizza and watched a movie together. They weren't even halfway through the movie when Rachel's dads bid their goodnight to their girls and went to bed, leaving the two alone for the remainder of the night.

Rachel and Quinn were sat on the sofa, the movie finished, when Quinn started to giggle lightly to herself.

"What's so funny?" Rachel was completely dumbfounded as to why Quinn had all of a sudden gone into a slight fit of hysterics.

"I just think it's funny that you won Monopoly. I mean, I'm not shocked, just amused."

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't understand why you're not shocked that I won, Quinn, nor do I understand why you find it so amusing. Please, enlighten me."

"Well... you're Rachel Berry. You _always_ strive to win. So, I'm not at all shocked."

Quinn smirked as Rachel snorted at the admission.

"I'll have you know that there is nothing wrong in wanting to succeed at everything in life, Quinn. Besides, you're just jealous because you didn't win. Don't worry Quinn, it's natural to be jealous when someone has, as the kids say these days, beat you down."

Quinn couldn't help but laugh loudly at Rachel's use of the phrase. "You're a funny girl, Rach. Now, let's go to bed, because this little baby in here is causing me to get tired really early."

XXX

Quinn awoke to a whirring sound and rubbed at her eyes. She looked over at her alarm clock and groaned when she saw the time: 6:30. She slowly rose from the bed and swung her legs to the side, out of the cover. _What the hell is that noise?_ She couldn't help but inwardly curse at whoever had caused her to wake up so early. As she made her way over to her bedroom door, the noise was getting slowly louder. The second that she stepped into the hallway, she knew exactly where the sound was coming from and she dawdled towards Rachel's bedroom. Not bothering to knock, she opened the door and walked straight into the room. She walked over to the bed and threw herself on top of it, muttering something that Rachel couldn't quite make out.

"Quinn? What is it you're saying? I can't understand you when you have your face buried in my covers."

Slowly lifting her head up from the bed, Quinn looked over and glared at Rachel. "I said I'm going to kill you. Your stupid elliptical woke me up and I didn't sleep very well last night. The baby kept me up kicking the crap out of my stomach."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Quinn. Had I known, I would've saved my morning routine until later on. I'm so, so sorry for waking you. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Actually there is. Would you come lay with me? I know it sounds like a weird request, but the baby seems to calm down the most when you're around. I could really do with sleeping for a couple more hours."

"Of course, Quinn," Rachel said, as she began to make her way over to the bed. She ordered Quinn up to the pillow so she could be as comfortable as possible, and then made her own way over to the blonde.

Quinn lay on her side, with her back to Rachel and she started to speak again before she allowed herself to be taken by sleep. "Here," she said, as she reached around and grabbed Rachel's arm. "Put your arm on my stomach, like this. It keeps the baby calm, for some reason."

Rachel felt the skin of her cheeks heating up as her hand was placed on Quinn's stomach. Spooning the blonde was nothing new to Rachel now, as it had been a regular occurrence when Quinn first moved in. She had no problem giving the other girl the comfort that she needed because she knew now that they truly were friends, but she began to wonder whether it was strictly friendly feelings she had for Quinn, or something more. She didn't want to ruin the closeness that the two now had, but she found herself getting more emotionally attached than she ever thought possible.

XXX

For the second time that day, Quinn opened her eyes slowly and was momentarily confused at the extra warmth she felt on her skin. She carefully turned her head so she could take a quick look behind her and as she did so, she found Rachel's face gently rested against her shoulder blades. She turned her head back around and lay her head back on the pillow, feeling completely at peace with Rachel's arm around her waist and the sensation of the brunette's breath against her back.

Quinn began to sit up, feeling pains of hunger ripping through her stomach, when she felt Rachel shuffle around next to her.

"Morning, Quinn."

"Morning, Rach. I'm sorry for waking you; I just really need to go eat. I'm starving."

"Don't be silly; consider it payback for me waking you up earlier. I'm pretty hungry myself, especially after my workout this morning. Let's go downstairs and I'll cook you some bacon and eggs."

XXX

After eating breakfast, showering and dressing, Quinn and Rachel took the fifteen minute drive to the mall. Rachel thought it was a good idea for Quinn to get out more because since moving in to her house, the blonde hadn't done much apart from go to school.

Rachel had dragged Quinn into more shops than either girl could even remember, when all of a sudden, Quinn let out a squeal of excitement.

"What? What's wrong? What is it?" Rachel couldn't hide the panic in her voice. "Is it the baby? Quinn?"

Quinn grabbed hold of Rachel's hand and dragged her along, leaving Rachel perplexed. Before she knew it, she was being pulled around a store that she'd never seen before by Quinn, who was acting like a child who'd been given too many sweets.

"Quinn, you haven't spoken a word in the last ten minutes apart from squeals. Please tell me what's going on with you right now because I'm getting quite alarmed."

Quinn giggled. "Sorry Rach, it's just... okay, don't laugh at me, but I _really _love coming here. I know it's pretty lame because it's a bunch of sci-fi stuff and figures of characters but, I've been coming here since I was like twelve."

This time it was Rachel's turn to giggle. "That isn't lame, Quinn. We all have our little secret obsessions."

"And what's your secret obsession?"

"Well, my love for Barbra Streisand and musicals haven't been a secret for a long time. However, what people don't know about me is how I sometimes like to listen to R&B and hip hop music."

At this confession, Quinn's eyes almost popped right out. "_What?_"

"Don't be so shocked, Quinn. I do occasionally like normal things too, you know. Besides, I find dancing to some R&B or hip hop songs to be quite provocative and enjoyable."

Quinn didn't even know what to say to Rachel's response, so after staring at Rachel with wide eyes, she grabbed the brunette's hand and pulled her out of the shop, stating how hungry she was.

XXX

After fifteen minutes of walking around the mall to decide where to eat, Rachel decided to put her foot down and told Quinn they were driving to the only vegan restaurant in Lima. She made it clear that she wanted Quinn to start eating things that would be healthier for both her and the baby. The blonde almost had a heart attack at the thought of never eating meat again, until Rachel reassured her that she wasn't making her go vegan.

Once the girls were sat comfortably at a table, a waiter promptly made his way over to them to ask if they were ready to order. Rachel simply nodded, turned to Quinn and told her to trust her with ordering the food on her behalf. Quinn agreed, simply because she had no idea what kind of vegan dish she would like.

Rachel turned to the waiter with a polite smile. "Can we get two dishes of the Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry and also a jug of water, please?"

The waiter gave a slight nod of the head as he finished scribbling down the girls' order, before walking away from the table and heading towards the kitchen area to give in their ticket, leaving the girls alone.

"Thanks for today, Rachel. I've had a really good day, just getting out of the house and doing something that normal teenagers do."

"Quinn," Rachel sighed. "You _are_ a normal teenager; being pregnant doesn't make you abnormal. You just need to realise that and go back to doing all the things you used to do."

"That's easy for you to say, Rach." Quinn let out a heavy sigh. "People don't look at you funny because you look like you're hiding a beach ball under your clothes. It's like a constant reminder of how much I screwed up."

Rachel didn't know how much Quinn wanted to talk about the pregnancy because she didn't know if Quinn had decided what to do when the baby was born. Although she didn't want to appear insensitive, she thought it was best to get Quinn used to speaking about it. She couldn't avoid it for much longer, she was due in three and a half months.

"I don't want to hash up things that are going to upset you, Quinn, but I feel it's an extremely unavoidable subject now. Have you made a decision about the baby yet?"

Quinn could sense how gentle Rachel was trying to be as she approached this subject. Even though she found it to be a touchy topic to discuss, she knew perfectly well that she couldn't just ignore it in the hope that it would go away. She'd been trying her best to shut out every thought of after the baby was born, but she couldn't keep putting it off.

"In all honesty, no I haven't. But the reason I haven't made a decision is because I've kind of been trying to force it to the back of my mind. Before you say it, I know, I have to make a decision because I don't have all that much time before the baby's born. I just don't know how I'm supposed to make a choice. I can either give birth to this baby and raise it myself, alone, or I can give birth and let a strange family take care of it. I'm sixteen years old, Rachel. I have two more years left of high school. What do I know about being a parent?"

At Quinn opening up to Rachel so freely, the brunette reached across the table and grabbed her friend's hand. "Hey, look at me," Rachel's soft tone pleaded, as she began to rub Quinn's hand with her thumb. "The first thing I have to say to you is that, even if you did decide to bring this baby up, you wouldn't have to raise it alone. You have me, I would do whatever I could to help you, and you also have my fathers. They love you like you're their own daughter, Quinn, and you're a huge part of our family now. They would do anything they could to support whatever decision you made, and if that decision would be to keep your baby, then they would step in as that child's grandfathers. And, about school; I don't want you to get mad, Quinn, so please remember that I have your best interests at heart. I know you're dealing with an inner turmoil over what's the best thing to do in your situation, but I spoke to Principal Figgins about your possible options. He said that if you do keep the baby, the school will help in whatever ways they can and allowances in your work will also be made on account of having a child to take care of. You'd still be able to take your finals and you'd be able to graduate, of course, providing that your grades are suitable – I'm sure they will be. I wasn't trying to step on any toes, Quinn, I just wanted to look into every single option that we have."

By now, Quinn was openly crying. She didn't care that she was in a public place, nor did she care that for the first time in a long time, she was freely releasing every pent up emotion that she'd locked up. Rachel's words had hit a special place within her and she had no idea why the girl in front of her was being so amazing, when all she'd done was give her hell. She had spoken such beautiful words to her and she had acted in such kindness over the last few weeks, she didn't know how to deal with feeling so overwhelmed.

"I'm not mad, Rach. I-I... thank you. Thank you so much. For this, for everything. Thank you." Those words were all Quinn could gather together, as she switched chairs so she was sat next to Rachel. She pulled the smaller girl close to her and wrapped her arms as tightly around her as she could.

After a few minutes of sitting in the tight and warm embrace, the two girls pulled apart, only to see the waiter with the girls' order. The two blushed as the man looked on at the scene he had disrupted, but politely thanked him for their meals, and they spent the rest of their evening being as physically close as they could get.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All I own is the idea. The characters (sadly) aren't mine.**

**A/N: I'm going to include a time jump in this chapter. It's not a massive time jump and I will partially fill in what's happened during the time, but I'm doing the time jump for a reason. There will be a (hopefully) unexpected tilt to this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it.**

A month had passed for the girls and the arguments with Santana still hadn't eased. Her friendship with Quinn had become extremely strained as Quinn practically refused to talk to the feisty Latina until an apology was given. Everyone knew that 'sorry' was not a word that was in Santana's vocabulary, so they didn't hold their breath. Instead, they went on with their daily lives, Quinn growing more comfortable every single day at the Berry household. She now considered it to be home, rather than thinking of herself as some sort of lodger. She was even known to lend a hand at Lima Buys when Michael was short-staffed. Rachel didn't approve too much of Quinn helping out at the family store because she believed that, at her stage of pregnancy, she should be resting as much as possible and not straining herself too much. However, she also knew that Michael and the other members of staff who worked at Lima Buys took great care of the soon-to-be mother. This eased her mind a little on the few occasions when Quinn did go and work a shift.

The last month had seen Quinn's confusion grow and escalate into something she could barely handle. From the start of their newly formed friendship, Quinn and Rachel had often unintentionally flirted with one another. Whenever it happened, neither girl knew they were doing it; Rachel figured that it must be how all friends act, because this was the first time in her life that she'd ever had what she could call a true friend. Rachel would occasionally make a comment that could be viewed as flirtatious and Quinn would respond by throwing a wink her way. Rachel thought this must have been a normal thing for friends to do, whereas Quinn found herself totally perplexed by the entire situation. She knew she was straight – or at least she thought she was – but as of late, she caught herself looking at Rachel when the other girl was distracted, and she'd even had a few dreams about the diva. Nothing risqué or anything like that, but dreams of sitting so close to Rachel that she could feel her body rise and fall as she breathed, dreams of Rachel stroking the palm of her hand as they sat side by side, dreams of Rachel's soft lips brushing against her cheek in the most gentle way. The dreams were fuelling Quinn's confusion further and it caused her to be curious about whether Rachel's lips were really as soft as her dreams lead her to believe.

Quinn, unbeknownst to her, was not the only one of the pair who was having these thoughts and feelings. Rachel realised that she was thinking more and more about Quinn as more than just a regular friend. She wasn't sure if that was normal after forming such a surprisingly close friendship with a person who once made your life a living hell, but she found herself not caring. Now, instead of looking at Quinn and feeling anxious or scared, she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. However, there was one problem with the feelings she was now experiencing: Finn. She and the boy sort of had a past. Once upon a time, the two dated for a number of months, but after a while Finn was constantly getting frustrated with Rachel's nonsensical ramblings, and he ended their relationship. Rachel was heartbroken at Finn's words, as he told her that she spoke more than was necessary and that he was tired of going out with a loser and getting crap for it from his fellow jocks. After their break up, Rachel was torn and her confidence was shot. For the first time in her life, someone made her feel loved, wanted and desired. Having a boyfriend, even one as dumb as Finn, made her feel like she was beautiful. She didn't feel worthless anymore, but then out of nowhere, it all got ripped away. After Finn insensitively dumped her, she felt like she'd never find anyone who'd ever want her again. Now, though, the tables were sort of turned. Rachel's feelings for Quinn had completely stamped over every remaining feeling she had about Finn, but now that her interest had faded, he seemed to want her back. The problem for him was that she could now see how much of an idiot he was and she wasn't going to stand for it anymore.

Rachel and Quinn's level of flirtation was still ongoing, but Quinn wasn't sure she could continue being so confused and so out of sorts. She was straight – or so she thought. Then again, she'd always lived under her father's repressive thumb, so did she _really _know who she was? She'd always been forced into this identity of perfection; perfect looks, perfect body, doting boyfriend, head of the Celibacy Club, head cheerleader, straight A's. She was the perfect daughter, until she got pregnant and everything turned upside down. If she took a second to be honest with herself, she could genuinely say that she didn't know who or what she was. She didn't know much about anything anymore. Did she even really believe in God, or was that always just something that'd been drilled into her by her parents? She had no idea anymore, but she had a bad feeling that things between her and Rachel were about to go sour.

XXX

It was a Saturday evening and Quinn and Rachel had the house to themselves. Marcus and Michael were celebrating their wedding anniversary and to keep up with tradition, they picked a quiet destination and spent the weekend alone.

The girls had ordered takeout and rented a movie, which was playing as the girls finished off their meals. Usually they watched something that was well known, but tonight, for some reason, they'd decided on a French film that came with subtitles. Neither of them had been paying much attention to the movie because it was so ridiculous and they didn't understand the plot whatsoever, so they had no issue with keeping it on in the background as they went and washed the dishes in the kitchen.

As Quinn dried the dishes that Rachel had washed, Rachel sat on the countertop, carefully watching the blonde in front of her. She started to giggle and Quinn turned and gave her a questioning look. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's just... if you keep drying those dishes as slow as you are doing, we'll still be sitting in this kitchen tomorrow morning."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm six months pregnant. You're the one who's been rattling on at me to not strain myself. I'm just adhering to your wishes."

Rachel scoffed as Quinn turned back around to continue with her task, when Rachel got a bout of cheeky playfulness. She jumped down from the countertop, grabbed a dish cloth, swirled it around and smacked it against Quinn's behind. Quinn jumped in shock and turned around to see Rachel sporting the cheekiest grin she'd ever seen the girl wear, before she quickly ran out of the kitchen. Quinn put down the dish that she was holding, vowing to go back to it later, and chased after Rachel up the stairs. She ran into Rachel's bedroom expecting to see the girl atop the bed, but found that the bed was in fact empty. She walked further into the room, slowly surveying the room, when she was momentarily stunned by a pillow to the face. She turned around and found Rachel, pillow in hand, giggling on the spot she was standing. She raced over to Rachel's bed and grabbed the remaining pillow, lunging at the brunette. As she was about to connect, Rachel ducked and dodged out of Quinn's way, hitting her pillow against Quinn's head once again.

"You're too slow for me, Quinn. You won't win."

"Oh, is that so?"

Before Rachel could even answer, Quinn's arms were wrapped around her and she was quickly thrown onto her bed. Quinn then got up on top of Rachel and began to tickle her across her stomach. Rachel kicked her legs out and waved her arms frantically as she tried to get Quinn to stop the torture. She was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, and Quinn was laughing at Rachel's adorable giggles.

"Qu-Quinn! Quinn! Please, please stop! I can't breathe. I can't! Please!" Rachel couldn't release the sentence without laughing and stuttering, which made Quinn tickle her harder.

"You see, Rach, the problem with that is I'm just having too much fun seeing you squirm," Quinn couldn't help but smile as she spoke. "I'll make you a deal; you either apologise for hitting me with the cloth and I stop tickling you, or you can be stubborn, not apologise and I'll continue to do what I'm doing. The choice is yours."

"F-fine! Okay. Okay. I'm s-sorry! I'm sorry for hitting you!"

And just like that, Quinn stopped tickling. "See, that's all I wanted."

The two girls now found themselves in quite a painfully awkward position. Quinn was on top of Rachel, holding the brunette's hands above her head so that she couldn't break free. Rachel was fully aware of their position and she was also aware of the tingling that was now disrupting her lower stomach and between her legs. Both girls were panting in heavy breaths at their intimate position and neither one knew which move to make next. Quinn didn't want to jump off Rachel because that would definitely make it even more awkward, and she wasn't even sure that she wanted to get off Rachel. Rachel knew that she definitely didn't want Quinn to get off her, she just didn't know what she was supposed to do next. She knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't know if that was the right thing to do. For weeks, she'd wondered what kissing Quinn would feel like, how having her lips move against the blonde's would make her feel. Looking into Quinn's eyes, she'd say it was pretty certain that she was thinking the same thing, too.

The girls lay there for what seemed like forever, although only a few minutes had passed. The two were looking deeply into each other's eyes, both hoping to find some sort of hint at what to do now. Quinn couldn't take the tension any longer and decided that she was going to test the waters. She slowly started to lower her head and Rachel obviously took the hint, for she began to lean up towards the gorgeous blonde above her. Neither broke eye contact as they moved closer together, not wanting the spell to break should one of them make the wrong move. Just as their lips were about to brush together, a loud shrieking from one of the girls' phones on the bedside table rang out, breaking Quinn out of her reverie. She immediately jumped off Rachel and off the bed, in a panic as she felt herself grow frustrated and angry.

Ignoring Rachel momentarily, she grabbed her phone off the table and snapped it open. "What?" She didn't mean to be so abrupt, but she felt fierce after what almost happened not even five minutes ago on Rachel's bed.

"Oh, hey Q. I didn't mean to catch you at a bad time." Brittany's voice softly but vulnerably rang out through the other end.

"Brittany, I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. What's up?"

"I just wondered if you'd be able to come over. I really need to talk to someone and other than Santana, you're my best friend. I can't talk to Santana about this."

"Why not?"

"Because it's about her," Brittany sounded defeated and broken. Quinn's heart went out to her friend.

"Okay. I'll be over as soon as I can."

Hanging up the phone, she turned around to see Rachel staring at her with panic and confusion in her eyes. "Qui-"

"No. You don't talk to me. I don't want to hear _anything_ you have to say to me. What the hell was that, Rachel? I'm not like that. I'm not like you and your dads!"

"Quinn, just because my dads are gay doesn't mean that I'm gay. And are you forgetting that you went to kiss me, too? That little... thing, wasn't just one-sided. In fact, Quinn, I believe that if Brittany didn't call you when she did, you would've continued and you would've kissed me. Don't try to deny it."

Quinn didn't even know how to respond. _Was Rachel right? _She thought. _Would I have kissed her?_

"I'm. Not. Gay."

"And I am? Quinn, this isn't a big deal. We got caught in some moment that didn't even happen all the way through, so just calm down. You're making far too big a deal out of this. We can just forget it ever happened and move on."

Quinn was now sporting her best glare, one that put fear into people's hearts at just a glance. Rachel knew this look. She knew Quinn was taking about twenty steps back in the progress they had made over the course of their friendship.

"You won't make me like you, I won't let that happen. Just because you're a dyke doesn't mean I am. Everyone at school's right, you're a freak, and I won't let you touch me again Manhands."

Rachel's face fell. After all the apologies and the promises of change from Quinn, she never thought she'd hear those words fall from the blonde's mouth again. At least, not directed towards her. She felt her heart cracking open at Quinn's horrible change of attitude and in that moment, she wanted to run. She wanted to run as far from the girl as she could get, because she now felt foolish for ever believing a word that Quinn said. Rachel had always been the type to believe in giving out second chances, letting people prove themselves after they may have screwed up, but she couldn't believe how quick she'd been to take Quinn's word that she'd changed.

Before Rachel could even respond, Quinn was already out of the house and getting in her car. She needed to go and visit Brittany, as her ditzy friend had asked. She knew what she said was wrong, it just came out. She knew the damage she must have done to not only her relationship with Rachel, but also to the other girl's self-esteem and confidence. Quinn couldn't help but feel self-hatred for what she had said to Rachel, and the things she said about not being like her fathers. Those two men had treated her like their second daughter for the last month that Quinn had been living with them. They'd provided her with a home, food, an occasional job, love, affection and the support she'd been craving since her own parents had disowned her. Oh, what a mess she'd got herself into.

XXX

Quinn was sitting on Brittany's bed, listening to the Dutch girl talk about Santana. She was listening to her friend as best she could, but she was distracted with thoughts of her brown-haired friend. Or rather, ex friend.

"I know she's a bitch," Brittany whined. "But she's never been that person with me. Now, she's treating me the same way she treats everyone else."

"B, she's always been different with you. She probably always will be."

"Not anymore, Q. Has Santana told you anything about what's been going on with us lately?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You know me and Santana aren't friends anymore."

Brittany looked temporarily confused. "Oh yeah. Okay, well, I'll tell you. I told Santana I love her and that I want to be in a relationship with her, just me and her, nobody else. She totally freaked out on me and yelled at me, she's never yelled at me before, Q. She told me that I was living in some kind of Tegan and Sara dream world if I thought she'd ever be exclusive with me. Now, she just keeps having sex with Puck and making sure I can see her dragging him into the janitor's closet at school. She's screwing around with all these different guys and she's being a total bitch with me. She won't even say hi to me in the hallway anymore. When we see each other at our lockers, she just blanks me. I don't know what I can do."

Quinn's heart broke for her friend. She could see the heartache in her eyes as she spoke about Santana. She knew the girls had always messed around but she had no idea that Brittany was in love with her.

"Britt, how long have you been in love with Santana?"

"Honestly?" Brittany sighed. "Since I was like, seven years old. We all met in first grade, remember? And the first day I met Santana, she punched Billy Anderson in the nose because he pushed me off the swing. From that day, she always looked out for me and she never let anyone call me stupid. I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I'm smart where it matters; with feelings, and love, and all of that stuff. When I was nine, I told my mom that Santana was my princess and I was going to get married to her when we were older. But she isn't my princess anymore, Quinn."

Quinn wrapped her arm around her crying friend, unable to come up with the words to soothe her. Usually she'd be able to find _something _to say, anything, but today her mind was too preoccupied with the conflict that had occurred before she left Rachel's house.

"Hey, listen to me B. Santana will come around, she's just an idiot. She probably feels the same way as you do, but you know she's never been good with her feelings and when she's scared about something, she runs and hides. Santana has always had a special place for you and I don't believe that's changed."

"You really think she loves me?"

"I do."

"Thanks, Q. Thanks for coming over here. I know Santana's been giving you a hard time over your friendship with Rachel, but you shouldn't listen to her. Like you said, she's an idiot sometimes. You and Rachel have a great relationship now and it's nice."

Quinn looked down in shame. "We _did_, but I've ruined that now."

"Did you tell her that you like her?"

"What?" Quinn almost choked. "Britt, I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Q, come on. I might be dumb at school but I see things other people don't. I've seen the way you two act around each other and I've seen the way you look at her. You look at her like Santana used to look at me, back when she actually showed interest. You like her, right?"

Quinn took a deep breath. She knew that if there was anyone she could talk to about this, it was Brittany. "I don't know, B. I've been getting so confused lately and I've been looking at Rach differently. It's like seeing her through different eyes and I don't know what to make of it. When you called, the reason I snapped on the phone when I picked up was because... me and Rachel almost kissed. B, I said some awful things to her."

"It can't be that bad, Q. Rachel's a forgiving person."

"No, Britt. This time, I've really fucked up. I called her Manhands again, and I told her she was a freak and that I'd never be a dyke like her. God, I've ruined everything."

"Oh, Quinn. Please don't worry. So, you shouldn't have said those things to her because that was really mean, but Rachel will calm down and forgive you eventually. I think she really cares about you, I can tell the way she looks at you when she thinks nobody's looking. Do you want to be with her?"

"I don't know what I want, B," Quinn's voiced was laced with confusion and defeat. "I don't even know who I am anymore."

"I'm going to say this because I'm your friend. You need to leave my house, go back home and talk to Rachel about this."

Could she really do that? _Rachel probably wouldn't even want to see my face right now, never mind speak to me._

"Maybe I'll text her."

With that, she got out her phone and got up Rachel's number, typing out a text at least five times. She kept deleting her words because she didn't know what to say to make Rachel listen.

**Rachel, I'm sorry for the things I said. Please can we talk about what happened? I didn't mean to turn into bitch Quinn, I just have a lot of things going on in my head right now. I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me. –Q **

All she could do now was wait to see if Rachel replied to her message. She had no expectations, because she knew if the tables were turned, she wouldn't want to speak to the other girl. Not with the insults that came spewing out of her own mouth.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Forgive me, guys. I planned to upload this chapter a few days after the last one, but my Internet decided to pack up on me! We had to wait a few days for a new modem to be delivered, so I'm sorry about the wait! **

Rachel was sitting on her bed, thinking about her recent quarrel with Quinn, when she heard her phone signal that she had a text message. After reading it, she briefly thought about sending a reply back to the girl telling her that she didn't wish to communicate with her, in any form, and to not text her again. But instead, she decided to erase the message after reading it, in the hopes that Quinn would get the hint.

She was so hurt, she didn't even know how to sort out the thoughts racing around in her head. She thought she and Quinn had made a lot of progress now that she was a part of her family, but it was all too clear to Rachel now that Quinn could easily change back into her former self. The cold-hearted, insensitive cheerleader that she'd grown up with would always be the same; evil, without giving a second thought to other people's feelings. She knew Quinn could be nasty because of the home life she had lived and the views that were etched into her brain from childhood, but she was under the impression that the evil side which came so naturally to Quinn was more or less gone. She had no reason to put on a mask because she had no reputation to uphold anymore. She also no longer had the shackles of her parents tied to her, keeping her in her place at all times. She was free to be herself, her _real_ self. This is why Rachel was so hurt and so confused at why she had been made Quinn's victim, once again.

As she sat on her bed and Quinn's words swirled around her mind, uncontrollable tears were running down her face, staining her tanned cheeks. Amongst all of the abuse she had suffered at other people's hands, this was the worst she had ever felt. She had never felt as alone and shattered as she did in that moment.

XXX

Quinn stayed at Brittany's house for another hour before she plucked up the courage to go back home. She was so frightened. Once Rachel's fathers found out what she had said to their daughter, would that even be her home anymore? Would the men do the same thing that her own parents had done to her? The thought of not having a home or a family again scared her more than anything in the world, because she knew there was no way she could face all of that pain a second time. Yet, amongst her fears and worries, she knew that if it were to happen, she deserved it. At least she had the rest of the weekend to try and get Rachel to listen to her before the men were home.

As soon as she was in the house, she didn't hesitate to go upstairs and make her way to Rachel's room. As gently as she could, she tapped on the door three times, hoping that Rachel would open it. There was no response so she knocked again, twice this time.

"Rachel, I know you're in there. Please let me speak to you. Please."

Nothing. She tapped her knuckles against the door a few more times, desperately conveying to Rachel that she wasn't going to stop until the girl at least allowed her to make an apology. After standing there for another minute in silence, she knocked again. She heard movement inside the room and suddenly the door was flung open, bringing her face-to-face with the angriest looking Rachel she had ever seen.

"Leave me alone, Quinn! I don't want to speak to you, I don't want to be around you. Looking at your face right now is making me feel sick to my stomach, so just leave me the hell alone!"

"Rach, please. I-"

"No! No, Quinn. You don't even understand what you've done to me. Just get the fuck away from me."

The door was aggressively slammed in Quinn's face, causing her to jump back in shock. Feeling nothing but sheer desperation, guilt and shame, she knew she had to do _something._ She opened Rachel's door and walked in, ignoring Rachel's screams to get out, and looked over at the girl sitting on the bed.

She kneeled at Rachel's feet and grabbed hold of her skirt. "You're right, I don't know what I've done to you. So tell me, please. Please, tell me, because some part of my fucked up brain doesn't know how I've made you feel. I need to know how you feel so that I can make this right."

Rachel sneered and threw Quinn's hands off her. "Are you not even human enough to understand the emotions I might be feeling right now, after all the words you said to me?"

"Maybe I'm not," Quinn said, as she looked down in shame. "I shouldn't have said those things, but I did because that's what I do. I lash out and I do it at the people who care most about me. _Please, _tell me what you're feeling. Tell me what's going through your mind right now."

"Fine. You want to know what I'm feeling? I'm feeling more hurt and more betrayed than I ever have in my whole life. You've done many things to me, Quinn, but I never thought you'd go back on your word. I let you in, I showed you my vulnerable side even though you knew how hard that was for me. You said those words to me and I felt my heart shatter into the smallest pieces possible. I trusted you; I was dumb enough to trust you. Not only did you insult me, you insulted my fathers. You know, the men who've been taking care of you? The men who've treated you like their other child. The men who've been nothing but a constant pillar of support for you since the second they found out everything you'd been through. You called me the most offensive thing you could had in this household. I'm not talking about using the old nicknames on me, because I'm used those, aren't I? You called me a dyke, Quinn. Did you even stop for a second to think how offensive that word is to my family? I'll bet you didn't, because you're an insensitive, selfish little bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself."

Quinn's eyes stung with tears as the weight of what she'd done was crashing down on her. "Rachel, please-"

"No, Quinn. There's nothing you could say that I would want to hear. No amount of apologies can make up for this. No amount of grovelling can take away what you've said and done. I thought I had a friend in you, and yes, maybe I did start to develop feelings for you, but what you said... you're a disgusting person, Quinn Fabray. You're no better than your worthless, bigot of a father."

Those final words cut Quinn like a dagger. Rachel was right; how was she any different from her dad? She stood up and shook her head at her own ugly personality.

"I'm so, so sorry," were the only words Quinn muttered, before running out of the room and heading out of the house.

XXX

She officially had nothing.

The first place she thought to go to was the park she used to go to with her parents when she was a child. An innocent, beautiful, pleasant child. What did she have now? No parents, no personality to be proud of and the possibility of no home.

As she was sitting on a swing in the isolated park, she thought long and hard about what her life had come to. Her parents had washed their hands of her and no longer claimed her as their child. Living with the Berry's had made that fact a lot easier to deal with because she was free to be herself. She didn't have to live with restrictions and regulations that stopped her having her own thoughts and feelings. Although the girl had been horrible over the last month or two, she missed having Santana by her side. Their friendship had always worked based on their bickering, because neither knew anything was meant by it, but since she'd been insulting about Rachel, the two hadn't spoken. Quinn felt like the biggest hypocrite in Lima. She also felt like the biggest bitch. She couldn't even believe what she'd done. Although she'd spent the majority of their lives making Rachel feel like shit, this time it was different. They'd actually developed a close friendship and Rachel had quickly become the most important person in Quinn's life. She had completely stabbed Rachel in the back and stomped all over the girl's feelings. The thought that she'd broken Rachel's heart in such a way brought an onslaught of tears, causing the girl to have the biggest breakdown that she'd ever had. She didn't know how to fix this, she didn't even know if she _could_ fix it.

XXX

It was 11:30pm when Rachel decided to go downstairs to get some water. Due to a lack of sound from the girl's room, she decided to poke her head around Quinn's door and found just what she suspected: empty. She assumed the girl was downstairs, so she decided to grab bottle of water from the fridge and run back upstairs as quick as she could. However, when she entered the kitchen, there was no sign of Quinn. She'd heard the girl leave the house earlier after their second argument of the evening, but it just occurred to her that she hadn't heard the girl come back.

She knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something had actually happened to Quinn, so she grabbed her car keys and left the house. She didn't even know where to look, so she thought the best thing to do would be to drive around the neighborhood to see if she could spot her.

After fifteen minutes of driving around without a sighting of Quinn, Rachel began to panic a little. It was cold outside, Quinn was on foot and it was late at night. As a last resort, she tried calling the girl, but her phone was switched off. She was about to turn the car around and head back home to see if she was back yet, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blonde hair. She parked her car and walked into the park where the blonde girl was sitting, straight away knowing it was Quinn.

"Quinn, are you insane?"

Jumping in fright, Quinn almost fell off the swing. "Rachel... what are you doing here?"

"It's almost midnight and you're out in this weather."

Quinn felt her stomach flutter at the thought that, deep down, Rachel still cared.

"You're pregnant, Quinn. You have to take care of that baby inside you at all times."

_Of course, _Quinn thought. Why would Rachel still care about her after everything she'd said? She shouldn't have expected anything different. Rachel cared about the baby, that was all. She no longer had a concern for Quinn. The blonde felt sick.

"Let's go, Quinn. Get in the car."

And with that, Rachel silently drove the two of them home, not a single word shared between them. The rest of the night was spent with the girls in their separate rooms, neither aware that while they were silently releasing their tears, so was the other.

XXX

Marcus and Michael arrived home in the early afternoon to a frosty atmosphere. The tension in the air was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. After being home for just a few hours, the two men had had enough, because Quinn was sitting on one sofa, Rachel was on the other, and neither had said a word to each other the whole afternoon.

"Alright girls," Marcus spoke. "Clearly, while we've been gone, something has happened. Would one of you care to fill us in on what we've missed?"

He was met with nothing but silence.

"Rachel? Quinn? I'm waiting for some sort of explanation as to why there's an atmosphere in this house."

Quinn spoke up. "Marcus, I-"

"It's nothing, daddy," Rachel interrupted. "I apologise for the tension, but I really don't wish to discuss the issue Quinn and I are having right now. I know we're an open household with trust and honesty, so I ask you to please trust me when I say, this is something that the two of us have to deal with."

Marcus looked between the two girls, then back to Michael for some sort of help. Michael could only shrug, so Marcus spoke up. "Okay, Rachel. I'll leave it between the two of you, but please, try and keep this household as happy as it can be."

The two men walked upstairs and left the girls alone once again. Rachel got up to go up to her room, when Quinn started to speak in the quietest voice Rachel had ever heard her use.

"You didn't have to do that. You should've told them what happened, what I said. I deserve to have your fathers know how despicable my behavior was."

"Not all of us are out to intentionally hurt people, Quinn," Rachel replied, as she walked out the room, leaving Quinn all alone.

XXX

Monday morning was an uneasy start in the Berry house. Not a word was spoken at the table during breakfast and neither Quinn nor Rachel looked forward to the drive to school. Sharing the same car was sure to be an awkward encounter going to and from school. Rachel had worries of Quinn attempting conversation during the drive; she didn't want to hear more of her apologies, she didn't even want to hear the sound of her voice. It all just hurt too much.

Although the two didn't share their first two classes of the day, they had to come together again for third period, as that was when they had Glee Club. As everyone filed into the choir room and took their seats, they noticed that Rachel and Quinn were no longer sitting next to one another, but at separate sides of the room. Finn, who hated the fact that the two girls had become so close, took this as the perfect opportunity to get Rachel back on his side and he made his way over to the empty seat next to her.

"Hey Rach."

"Hi, Finn."

The boy brought his arm up as he rubbed the back of his head. "Um, I've been thinking lately about something. You know, we used to have something between us that was special. You're special, Rach, and I want to give us another shot. Will you come out on a date with me?"

Rachel turned around in her seat so that she was facing Finn. _What an idiot, _she couldn't help think it. "You can't be serious, Finn."

"I am, Rach. I... I miss you."

"No, Finn. No!" Rachel began to raise her voice, alerting the other Glee members of their conflict. She stood up from her seat as she continued to shout at the bewildered boy in front of her. "You had me in the palm of your hand and you played that to your advantage. You constantly put me down and made me feel worthless. Do you think I'm stupid enough to go back to you after everything you made me feel? I'm not an idiot, Finn, and I'm not allowing you to treat me like I'm less than you anymore."

"But Ra-"

"No! Just shut up, Finn. I don't want to hear anything else from you and I don't want to hear any more of your grovelling. You had your chance with me and you blew it."

The rest of the members sat wide-eyed and open-mouthed as Rachel perfected one of her well known diva storm-outs. Finn could only open and close his mouth, without releasing a sound, because he never thought Rachel would or ever could explode at him like that.

XXX

Rachel was so angry, angrier than she'd ever felt. She knew that a part of her should feel guilty about blowing up at Finn the way she did, but she couldn't find it in her to care. She knew it was all the pent up frustration about her fall out with Quinn that was causing her to act in such a way, and a huge part of her wanted to lash out at the blonde instead.

Even though Glee was only third period, Rachel was so angry, she didn't think twice before getting into her car and driving herself home. When she stormed into the house, she expected the house to be empty as both of her fathers were supposed to be in work. However, when she went into the kitchen, she jumped at the unexpected sight of Marcus sitting at the table, rubbing his hands over his forehead.

"Daddy! I didn't expect you to be home!"

Marcus turned to look at Rachel with a look of confusion on his face. He raised his watch, took a look at it and looked back at his daughter. "Why are you home, sweetie? School doesn't finish for another few hours..."

"I know, daddy. It's just that – and don't get mad – I had an argument with Finn. It left me so angry that I just needed to remove myself from the building immediately. I know I always strive to achieve a full attendance record at school, but I can_not_ under any circumstances be around those people right now."

"Honey," Marcus sighed. "I know that something's happened between you and Quinn. I don't know what it is, but it's having huge effects on you. On both of you, actually. Whatever this is, you need to sort it out because you can't carry on this way."

Rachel's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Daddy, I can't forgive her. Although I can't give you details, what I can tell you is that she really hurt me. She said some things that I just can't forgive, or forget. I don't know if things will ever be the same with us again."

Marcus grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her onto his lap. "Rachey," Rachel blushed at the childhood nickname. "You girls have come leaps and bounds since she moved in. I can understand your trouble to forgive her if she's hurt you so badly, especially given your past, but I've witnessed the two of you. You girls are so close and I think it's a shame to let such a continually growing friendship die because of a fight. She probably didn't mean to hurt you the way she did, and I'll bet that she's feeling pretty bad about it."

"I know, daddy. It's just that I-"

"Love her?"

Rachel's eyes went so wide they almost popped out of her head. "Wh-what?"

"I might be your father, Rachel, but I wasn't born yesterday. I've seen the way you look at her. You know your dad and I wouldn't have a problem if there was something more than platonic between the two of you. But, you have to be honest with me, sweetie," Marcus paused for a few seconds, causing Rachel to feel completely anxious with what her daddy was about to say. "Have you fallen for Quinn?"

At the words, Rachel burst into tears. "I don't know. I don't know what I feel towards her, but I know it's more than friendship. I honestly think... I think I'm falling in love with her, daddy."

Rachel put her head on Marcus' shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, and she sobbed harder than she ever had before. She had never experienced such pain and heartache as she did over all of this trouble with Quinn. She didn't want to feel this way for her friend, but she just couldn't help it. Whenever she looked at Quinn, she felt her stomach tingle. Her skin felt like it was on fire whenever the two would touch. How could she get this to stop? How could she stop falling in love with her best friend?

XXX

Quinn noticed that for the rest of the day, she couldn't locate Rachel; she just figured the girl was doing a fabulous job of avoiding her. She could understand Rachel not wanting to be around her, but that didn't make it hurt any less. She wanted this whole thing fixed and more than anything, she wished there was some way of taking back all the vile and despicable things she'd said.

At the end of school, Quinn looked in all the obvious places for Rachel but to no avail. Realising that she'd have to walk home because Rachel had the car, she groaned aloud and made her way to the parking lot to exit and make her way back to the house. However, when she walked out, she found Rachel's car waiting for her. She made her way over, finding the diva in the driver's seat, impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

Getting in the car, she chanced talking to the other girl. "I thought you'd left already."

Rachel didn't even look at Quinn as she answered. "I did. I went home after my argument with Finn."

"You came back for me?"

This time, Rachel turned to look at her, making full eye contact for the first time since their fight. "Yes, Quinn, I came back for you."

"But, why?"

"I wouldn't leave you to walk home, regardless of whether we're in a fight or not."

"Thank you. I mean it, Rach. After the things I said to you, you had every right to leave me here and make me walk home, but instead, here you are."

Rachel could only give Quinn a slight nod, before starting the car and making the short journey home. The rest of the drive was spent in total silence and the tension in the air could've been cut with a blade. The silence felt so loud and so lonely, to both girls, but neither knew what to say to the other. That is, until Rachel shut the engine off and heard Quinn speak.

"Will you ever forgive me?"

Quinn didn't think Rachel was going to respond at all, because for at least a whole minute, the girl didn't speak a word that suggested she'd acknowledged Quinn's question. The suspense hung in the air like a thick, dark cloud.

"I don't know, Quinn. I want to, but I don't know how to. You hurt me more than I thought you would ever again. I feel like I was tricked into caring about you so that you could push me down again, and hearing you say those words to me after my affections have been trusted and won... it killed me. I really want to be able to just forgive you, again, but a bond was formed and now that's been broken. So, I just need time."

"I understand, Rach. I do, and again, I'm so sorry for the things I said. I won't stop apologizing until you completely and fully believe that I will never hurt you again, for as long as I live. I want our friendship back to the way it was, but I get that you need time."

"Thank you, Quinn."

The two girls shared a small, shy, uncommitted smile and got out of the car, making their way into the house. Quinn knew it was going to be hard, but she was going to win back Rachel's trust, even if it killed her. She knew she felt something stronger than just your average friendship for the girl, but she also knew that she needed to focus on getting their friendship back first. Everything else could come later.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: The closest I get to owning Glee is in my dreams at night. **

**A/N: OK, I know, I'm terrible for taking so long. AGAIN. Please, please, please don't hate me! Several times I would sit and stare at my screen, my fingers on the keys, ready to type. But nothing would come. I've literally had **_**the**_** worst mental block at this chapter, because I had no idea what way to take it. **

**A/N: Shameless self-promotion here (sort of). The best way to see when I'm next updating would be to ask me on Twitter at /Emma_Deane If you want to know how long my chapters will take, just send me a tweet or a DM and I'll get back to you straight away. I get the tweets direct to my phone, so I'll be able to answer you pretty much immediately.**

**Hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter! **

Quinn sat alone at the kitchen table, thinking things through, when Marcus came out of nowhere and plopped himself into the chair next to her.

"You alright, kiddo?"

"I guess."

Marcus could still detect a hint of sadness in Quinn's voice. "I thought things were better between you and Rachel now?"

"Not really," Quinn said as she kept her eyes down. "Rachel said she needs time, but that was two weeks ago. Things are still kind of awkward between us. We'll speak over dinner when we're home, but that's because it's a group conversation with you and Michael. When we're in school, I'm lucky to get a genuine smile out of her. She doesn't even sit next to me in Glee anymore. I know it's my own fault, but, I just miss her."

"Oh sweetie," Michael truly felt for the girl, as he could see how much she was suffering for whatever it was she had said to his daughter. Placing his arm around her shoulder, he continued in an attempt to make Quinn feel a little better. "I understand that you said some things that really hurt her, but I'm sure she'll come around soon. You know Rachel just as well as Michael and I – maybe even better – and you know that she likes to drag things out sometimes. She also might be taking as long as she is to look out for her own feelings. She'll still be licking her wounds clean, so you might want to try giving her a little nudge. Not a full scaled push, but just be persistent with your efforts."

"Thanks, Marcus. I just really want this to be fixed before the baby's born. I still haven't decided what to do and I need my best friend back."

"Why don't you go upstairs and talk to her?"

"Do you think she'll listen?"

"You'll never know unless you try."

XXX

Standing outside Rachel's bedroom door, Quinn tried to muster up enough courage to rap her knuckles against it, alerting the girl inside of her presence. She didn't have the first clue of what to say to Rachel, she just wanted things to improve quicker than it was.

Before she could knock, Rachel's door opened and the brunette almost slammed right into her front.

"Oh! Quinn! You startled me."

"Sorry, Rachel. Were you going somewhere?"

"I was just going to ask Daddy what we'll be eating this evening. Why, did you want something?"

Quinn couldn't help but flicker her eyes from Rachel's to the floor and back again. "Actually, I wondered if we could talk."

"Oh, sure. Come in."

Quinn entered Rachel's bedroom, taking a seat on the girl's bed as she heard the click of the door. Rachel walked over to her desk and sat down on her chair, still not feeling comfortable enough to sit close to Quinn.

"What did you want to talk about?"

She heard Quinn take a long and deep breath. "I've been giving you the time you said you needed and I like that we're on slight speaking terms now. I just... Rach, it's not enough. I need my best friend back. I need the girl who'd put her head on my shoulder when we watched movies together at night. I need the smiles you used to give me that I haven't seen in so long. I need the girl who'd sit next to me in Glee Club and slyly giggle when Mr Schue raps. I know I don't deserve that girl, but I need her."

Quinn looked over at Rachel, to find the girl discreetly wiping a tear from her cheek. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Rachel more than she already had, but she was struggling more than she ever thought she would without the girl by her side.

"I want things back to how they used to be, too. But, Quinn, I've never felt that hurt before. I always thought that falling out with a friend couldn't really be as bad as people made out, but I was wrong. In fact, it's worse than what people make it out to be. You were my best friend and so much more, and you made me feel like I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. That kind of hurt and damage can't just go away, no matter how much we both want it to."

Quinn noted the past tense that Rachel used when talking about their friendship; it tore her heart in two. "I _was_ your best friend?"

"Yes," Rachel looked towards the floor. "You broke my trust. You broke my heart. I want you back as my best friend, but I can't just let you break down my walls again. Before that can happen, you just need to give me time and show me that you won't turn on me again."

"Never, Rach. Never again. I'll show you, I will. I swear."

The two girls made eye contact once again, both feeling the intensity of the stare between them. Quinn felt her stomach drop and her chest flutter as she locked onto Rachel's chocolate coloured eyes. She didn't know what to make of it.

_Friends don't get butterflies over each other._

But Quinn knew that even thinking that was pointless. The day she and Rachel almost kissed – and the day her world fell apart – was the only thing she had been able to think about. If she thought hard enough, she could remember the feel of Rachel's lips being so close to hers. If there was ever a time for regrets, it was now. She wished more than anything that, rather than freaking out, she would have just went with what the other girl was offering her.

The more she thought about everything, the quicker the realisation sunk in. Quinn had undoubtedly and undeniably fallen in love with her best friend.

XXX

Thursday afternoon found Quinn sitting in the toilets alone, whilst the rest of her student body were at lunch. Upon realising the seriousness of her feelings for Rachel, she'd been unable to think of anything other than how to deal with it. Should she be honest with her and face the possibility of some sort of lesbian relationship with her? Or should she keep it to herself, feeling tortured every single day, never knowing what might've been?

She was torn from her thoughts when the bathroom door slammed open, hitting the wall before springing back. _Oh, God,_ her heart practically dropping into her stomach.

"S."

"Q."

Awkward couldn't even begin to explain how the atmosphere felt. The girls hadn't been on friendly terms since Quinn moved in with Rachel, simply due to the fact that she refused to put up with Santana's attitude about her friend.

"What're you doing in here alone?"

Quinn was shocked that the Latina even cared enough to ask. _What the hell, _she figured. _It's not like I have anyone else I can speak to. _"I just needed time alone. I don't feel up to facing people."

"I'm assuming that by "people" you're referring to someone in particular."

"Rachel."

"Oh. I thought you guys had figured your shit out?"

"Kinda. It's not that simple. Why are you even asking? You hate Rachel, and you sure as hell don't like me, so you can quit pretending like you care."

Santana could plainly see Quinn attempting her best HBIC face, but it wasn't working so well. Quinn looked directly into Santana's eyes as she spoke, expecting to see a smirk on her face. However, what she could see was nothing short of a heart stopping shock.

"Hey, it's not like that. Of course I like you. Look, Q, I know we haven't been speaking lately due to my own idiocy, but I didn't start hating you or anything. I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have acted the way I did when you moved in with the midget, but if I'm honest, I was hurt. We were friends and I thought you'd be able to come ask me if you could stay at my place. You know my mom would've been more than happy to have you there."

The blonde wasn't expecting _that_.

"Wh-what? San, how could I ask you that? Your mom has enough with you and your little brothers in that tiny house. I wasn't going to ask her to take in a pregnant teenager. I didn't know that was why you kicked out, you should've told me."

"You're right, I should have, and I'm sorry. You and I, we've always bickered, but it's never been as serious as this, to the point where we fell out. Can we just... can we go back to normal? I could really use my friend back right about now."

"What's wrong, San?"

Santana sighed, showing her defeat with her slumped shoulders and dead eyes. Quinn had a strong feeling she knew what the Latina's pain was based around, but she didn't want to push. Knowing Santana like she did, she knew the best thing to do was let her speak in her own time.

"You know I don't do feelings and sappy shit, so if you ever tell anyone about this, I'll end you. I just can't stand to see Artie with Brittany. Touching her; holding her hand; stroking her arm; kissing her. It's not right. It's not right and I can't bear to see it every day, right in front of my eyes."

"You—you love Britt?"

The usually feisty Latina sighed in total defeat. "Yes."

"San, I had no idea. I just thought you guys fooled around. I didn't know feelings were involved."

"It's killing me, Q." Santana couldn't stop the tears that were freely falling from her eyes. "_This_ is why I don't do feelings. _This_ is why I should've never let my heart run away with itself. _This_ is why I should never have fallen in love in the first place."

Quinn rushed over to her friend, who was now sobbing and struggling for breath, and threw her arms as tightly around her as she could. As the blonde pulled her in as close as she could get her, Santana's tears refused to stop. Years of love held back were releasing themselves and she'd never experienced emptiness and pain like it.

"What do I do? I can't just ignore this anymore. I've loved her for more years than I care to count, but now I can't just keep burying it. The more I see her with Artie, the more I realise I _need_ her. I need her, I want her and I love her. Knowing that I can't have her is ripping my heart out. Who knew I had one, right?"

Both girls giggled at Santana's attempt at lightening the mood. Quinn knew how hard it must have been for the girl to completely compromise her alleged 'reputation' by admitting how she felt. In all the time she'd known Santana, she was pretty sure she'd never even heard her say the word 'love', let alone _feel_ it.

"Enough about me and my shit," Santana said with an attempt at confidence, as she wiped her eyes. "Why do _you_ look so doom and gloom?"

Quinn knew she couldn't deny the girl this. She couldn't lie to her about what she was thinking and feeling when Santana had just bared her entire heart to her.

"Okay, you know me and Rachel fell out?" Santana nodded. "Well, that was my fault. She, um... she tried to kiss me. Okay, no, I'm lying. We both tried to kiss each other, and if I'm totally honest, I started leaning in first. I wanted it to happen, I wanted to kiss her. I've wanted to kiss her for a while. Just before we actually got to kiss, my phone rang and that's when I freaked out. The reality of the situation hit me like a freight train and I lost it. I called her some really horrible things, San, and I could literally see her heart breaking through her eyes."

Santana didn't know what to make of this. Quinn hated Rachel, right? Now they were kissing? Her eyes were wider than she thought they could be and for the first time in her life, she was lost for words.

"I made Santana "fucking" Lopez speechless?"

"Well, I just didn't expect that _at all_. Ever. Not in a million years. I mean, I knew you guys had gotten closer since you've been living with her and everything, but I never saw it going in that direction."

There was a momentary and awkward silence, neither girl knowing what to say next, when Santana continued.

"Are you alright? Coping?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I've been thinking lately about all these feelings I get when I'm around her and now that I know what my feelings are, I don't know how to handle them. I think I love her, S."

"Shit. I'm sorry, Q. I know I gave you a hard time over her, but I had no idea all this was going on. I've been a shitty friend when I should've been there for you." Santana lowered her eyes in shame, before sighing deeply and continuing. "What are you going to do?"

Quinn took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before she spoke. "I don't know. What _can_ I do? Having time to think about everything since she stopped speaking to me, I realised one thing. I want to be with her. I do, I want her, I just don't know _how_."

"Q, I'm not trying to be insensitive right now, but what have you got to lose? You've already lost your family and you and I both know that's a pretty final thing. Punch and Judy aren't going to change their ways, we all know that. If you want her, go after her. What's stopping you?"

"I know, San, and you're right. But, what if she doesn't want me back? I wouldn't blame her after everything I said to her."

Santana could relate to Quinn's situation in a sense. She wanted Brittany, Quinn wanted Rachel. Santana didn't think it was possible to ever have her Brittany back by her side again because of Artie. Quinn didn't think Rachel would want her after she said such hurtful things to her. Who would have ever thought that the two meanest girls in school would be in such pathetic situations, pining after girls like lovesick puppies?

"I'll make you a deal here, Q. You go after your girl, I'll go after mine and we won't stop until we get them. We're the biggest and baddest bitches in this place, nothing stops us getting what we want."

Quinn all of a sudden got a burst of energy from Santana's pep talk. "Yeah! You're right! We're doing this and we'll get them!"

XXX

The remainder of the week, Quinn and Santana were often together, whispering in corners. Rachel even noticed that over the weekend, Quinn was mostly out of the house and she had no idea where she was. Little did she know that, again, she was with Santana.

Sunday evening, after dinner, Rachel was sitting in her room reading a book when she heard a quiet knock on her door. She placed her battered copy of Pride and Prejudice on her bed and walked her way over to the door. Opening it, she saw Quinn standing with a bashful smile on her face.

"Hi. Come in."

Rachel turned and made her way back into her bedroom, allowing Quinn to follow. Had she not turned her back to the blonde, she would have caught onto the fact that Quinn kept one hand behind her back.

"I won't keep you long, Rach. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine, thank you. I've just been reading Pride and Prejudice; a beautiful and heart-warming book. How about you, Quinn? I trust you are well?"

"Yeah, I'm well. Very well. How's school going for you?"

Rachel huffed. "Nothing out of the ordinary. You know as well as I do that nothing interesting ever happens in McKinley."

Quinn couldn't hold back her giggle, mostly because she knew how right Rachel was. After a few minutes of silence, Rachel noticed Quinn's hidden arm and curiosity got the better of her. "Why is your hand behind your back?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Quinn smirked.

Rachel's face contorted in confusion at Quinn's secrecy, and found herself frozen in place as Quinn began slowly making her way over to her, her hips swaying in a way that drove the diva crazy. Although the girl was now seven months pregnant, she was still the most beautiful girl Rachel had ever seen and as far as she was concerned, the baby bump didn't take away an ounce of Quinn's sex appeal.

Rachel gulped as she was now confronted with Quinn right in front of her. When Quinn spoke, she could feel her breath hit her face in the most glorious way. "This is for you."

She finally allowed Rachel to see why her hand was hidden, as she removed it from behind her back, presenting Rachel with a single red rose. She held it out in front of her until the smaller girl took it slowly from her, the shock evident in her face.

"Wh-"

"I just wanted to tell you, Rach," Quinn whispered, as she leaned in and pressed her lips against Rachel's ear. "You look really beautiful today."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she turned her face slightly and gently attached her lips to Rachel's cheek. She allowed it to remain there for a few seconds before she pulled back slowly, gave Rachel a small smile and turned around to walk out of the room.

As the bedroom door shut behind Quinn, Rachel brought her hand slowly up to her cheek where Quinn had kissed, and replayed the last few minutes in her head. Her mouth was dropped open as she was left feeling completely perplexed at what had just happened.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! This one will pretty much continue from Sunday and will start on the Monday at school. I'm happy that you guys are enjoying the direction of this story. I didn't want Rachel to just forgive Quinn straight away, but I DID want Quinn to not be an idiot and realise that the reason she freaked out on Rachel was because she wants to be with her.**

**A/N(2): Also, I changed my Twitter name, so now my URL is http : / www . twitter . com / SuperSarcasmic – I'm not sure if this will work or take some of it out. As you can see, I've put spaces to see if it would, so if it **_**does**_** work, just remove the spaces. **

**A/N(3): One last thing: After reading back through my story, I noticed I've been spelling the word "realised" with an 's', for which I apologise! I know Americans spell it with a 'z', so I'm sorry. However, I'm going to keep spelling it the English way. I don't want to have two different spellings of it through my fic and for some reason, whenever I try to edit chapters, it doesn't work. Forgive me.**

**Enjoy!**

As the girls sat with Rachel's fathers at the table eating breakfast, Michael and Marcus could sense something in the air. They were relieved that the negative atmosphere seemed to have faded, but now they wanted to know what was going on. They could both tell that something had happened, that much was obvious given the tension, but whether it was good or bad, they couldn't tell.

The drive to school was quiet, aside from the radio playing songs that neither girl was really listening to. Rachel focused on the road while Quinn was scheming in her head more ways to let Rachel see how she felt. She knew it'd be easier to be straightforward with the girl, but she figured she'd make it a little more fun for the both of them. It also helped that she was fully aware that Rachel liked being wooed, so that's exactly what she would do.

The second that Rachel stopped the car in the school parking lot, she jumped in fright as Quinn suddenly opened her door and jumped out of the vehicle. As she reached around to the backseat to gather her things, she watched Quinn curiously as the blonde made her way around the front of the car, heading in the direction of Rachel's side. Quinn noticed that Rachel was about to open her door, so she broke into a jog and grabbed the handle, opening it for her.

"Oh. Thank you, Quinn," Rachel stated with a coy smile, as a slight blush crept upon her cheeks. After exiting the car and ensuring the doors were locked, the girls made their way towards the entrance doors to McKinley High. Quinn knew the two didn't share first period, so she insisted on walking Rachel to her room. Unable to refuse, the brunette gave a short nod and a smile.

Walking through the halls on the way to Rachel's first class, Quinn spotted Santana, who promised she'd save the seat next to her so the two could talk. Rachel was baffled by the mystery of the topic of discussion that the two were set of having during their class, but she didn't say a word and continued on her way throughout the halls with the beautiful blonde next to her. As the two reached Rachel's classroom, Quinn spun on her heel so she was facing the diva and gave her the most genuine expression Rachel had seen her wear.

Rachel was the first one to speak, breaking the comfortable silence. "So, this is me."

"Yep, here we are."

"Thank you for walking me to class, Quinn. It was very chivalrous."

"It was my pleasure, Rach. Have a nice class," Quinn smiled, as she turned around and started to make her way to her own room. As she got a few steps away from Rachel, she turned back, calling the girl's name.

"Yes, Quinn?"

"I'll miss you," she uttered softly, and before Rachel had a chance to reply, she spun back around and walked down the hallway.

XXX

During their class, Santana and Quinn paid more attention to their conversation than to the teacher, something that did not escape the teacher's attention.

"Miss Fabray, Miss Lopez, is there something you wish to share with the class?"

"No, Mrs Ryans, nothing we'd like to share," Santana spoke with confidence. "You can continue now."

Mrs Ryans couldn't help but open and close her mouth like a fish, shocked at Santana's blatant audacity, but she knew it was best not to cause a scene with the girl because it was simply a losing battle. She knew she had no choice but to carry on with the class, even though she knew the two girls would continue whispering between themselves.

Santana turned back to Quinn once the teacher had begun to speak to the rest of their classmates once again. "So, Q," she whispered. "What exactly are you doing to show Rachel you have feelings for her?"

Quinn cautiously looked around the room to make sure that nobody else could hear what they were talking about. "I've just been trying to do little things, I guess. I want to tiptoe around her rather than jump in head first. Even though I know she feels something for me, I want to ease her, and myself, into this whole thing."

"I can understand that."

"How're things going for you with Britt?"

Santana sighed. "They're not. I can't get a second with her without Wheels rolling on up to her, whisking her away. Besides, she always seems too keen to get away from me."

Quinn didn't respond for a while, as she was having an argument with herself in her mind about whether to tell her friend what she knew. She held more knowledge than Santana did when it came to how Brittany felt, following their conversation a few weeks prior. The problem was that she didn't think it was her place to uncover Brittany's feelings, but could she let her friend suffer in silence?

Santana interrupted her thoughts. "I don't think she loves me like I love her. Maybe I need to accept that and move on."

"What happened to us not stopping until we get what we want, huh? You can't give up so quickly, S."

"I know, and you know me, usually I'd fight toe-to-toe and head-to-head for something that I really want, and I want Brittany so much. But I can't make her love me if her heart belongs to someone else."

Quinn took a deep breath and mumbled out a sentence as fast as she could. "Brittanylovesyou."

"What? Slow it on down, Q. I can't understand you when you talk quick."

Quinn took a deep breath, turned her head to look into Santana's eyes and placed a supportive hand over hers. "Brittany loves you, San."

"Thanks for the little pep talk, Q, but she doesn't. She's with Artie, she doesn't allow me to have any time alone with her anymore and she never replies to my text messages."

"No, S, you don't understand. Britt _does_ love you. She told me."

Santana's eyes went wide. "What? When?"

"The night Rachel and I fought. The call I got that interrupted us as we were about to kiss was from Brittany, asking me to go over to her house. When I got there, she was a blubbering mess, Santana. She spoke about how much she loves you, but how much of a bitch you've been to her."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me this?" Santana's voice was now more raised, causing her fellow classmates and teacher to focus their attention on the two girls. "You're supposed to be my friend. I told you last week what I wanted and you knew about what she told you, but you said _nothing_."

"It wasn't my place, Santana."

The now angered Latina stood up with force, making her chair fly backwards onto the floor. "Fuck you."

"Miss Lopez, I will **not** tolerate that kind of language in my classroom!" Mrs Ryans was red-faced, as she yelled at the girl a few tables away from her.

"Whatever," Santana spat out, before viciously marching out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her. Quinn, who was rooted to her seat in shock, could only drop her head to her hands and mutter under her breath how much of a dumbass she was.

XXX

It was lunchtime when Quinn caught sight of Santana again. She'd spent the rest of the morning after their argument avoiding anyone who would talk to her, not wanting to upset anyone else or herself any further.

They were in the cafeteria when Santana spotted Quinn out of the corner of her eye, and before the blonde could make her way over to her, she quickly spun on her heels and stormed out. Quinn watched and hurriedly followed, not allowing Santana out of her sight. They needed to talk about this and it needed to be resolved now.

Santana knew how stubborn Quinn was, so she knew she would've gave chase after she abruptly left the cafeteria. Not wanting to publically air their dirty laundry, she dashed into the toilets nearest to her and yelled at the younger girls in there to leave. It didn't take long for Quinn to barge in, demanding that Santana would hear her out.

"The fuck, Q? I thought we were friends. You and I made a deal, to both get the girls we wanted. I opened up my fucking heart and soul to you, let myself be totally vulnerable, and knowing what you knew, you just let me be hurt without telling me! I can't fucking believe you!"

"Santana, listen to me, okay? The reason I didn't tell you was because I didn't think it was my place. I know, that's a shitty move as a friend, but don't forget, I'm friends with Brittany, too. If I told you, I'd be betraying her. If I kept it from you, I'd be hurting you with this secret. San, please try to understand how hard it was for me to either keep it from you _or _tell you."

"I know! Okay? I fucking know! I just... I love her, I need her, Quinn! I can't take this. I've never loved anyone like this before, because my heart's always belonged to her. What the fuck do I do now that she's Artie's?"

Quinn could only hold Santana as she released sobs so harsh that her throat was beginning to burn. Her whole body felt like it was on fire as she cried tears of pain, sadness, heartache and possible loss. For the first time in her life, she let someone hold her and rock her as she cried and cried.

XXX

The minute Quinn entered her home, she collapsed against the door and allowed her body to slide down to the ground. With her head in her hands, she took a few deep breaths, attempting to relieve the stress of the day. She knew Rachel was already home and up in her bedroom, because she had told the girl to take the car while she walked home. She needed some time alone after her afternoon with Santana, which was spent trying to keep the girl from having an emotional breakdown every fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes had passed before she decided to go up to her bedroom and take a nap. She figured a sleep couldn't hurt and she was emotionally spent from her day of arguing and being a supportive rock.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she heard Rachel's door creak open and saw the brunette pop her head around the frame.

"Hello, Quinn. I heard someone walking up the stairs and figured it might be you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It's not like you to prefer walking home instead of taking the car."

"I know, I'm sorry if I worried you," Quinn sighed. "I just really needed to clear my head."

"Rough day? I've hardly seen you."

"Yeah, you could say that. I know, and I apologise. I don't want you to think that I was avoiding you because of personal reasons. I just had a slight argument with Santana this morning and I didn't want to upset anyone else with the mood it put me in."

"Do you mind me asking why you argued with Santana?"

"Well, I guess I can tell you. It's not like you're going to discuss it with her, or anyone else for that matter." Quinn drew a breath before she continued. "Santana's head over heels in love with Brittany. She's been thinking of ways to win her over, but Britt's pretty much avoiding her. She won't return her calls or her text messages, she won't even speak to her in the halls at school. The reason we argued was because a few weeks ago, Brittany told me she loves her, but Santana's been different with her lately in her attitude. She didn't like that she was sleeping around because it was hurting her. I told Santana this morning, because she was pretty set on just giving up on B. She got really mad at me for not telling her before today and stormed out of class. I didn't see her until lunch and after we sorted everything out, she was a wreck. I've never seen her like that, Rachel. Not once, in all the years I've known her, have I seen her cry so hard. So, my morning was spent arguing with her and then avoiding her, and my afternoon was spent holding her up and comforting her. I'm just exhausted."

"Oh, Quinn. I'm sorry you've had such a horrible day. I can't say I'm all that shocked about Santana and Brittany being in love with one another; there's always been something so different about those two. However, what _is_ shocking is Santana being so... broken. I hope she's going to be okay."

"I think she will be, eventually." Quinn paused for a while. "I think I'm going to take a nap. I'm absolutely exhausted after today and I think I just need to sleep some of it off."

"Yes, that's probably a good idea. Would you like me to wake you in a couple of hours so you can have some dinner?"

"That'd be great, thank you."

Before she headed into her room, she made her way over to Rachel and wrapped her in a hug, inhaling her scent and relishing in the feeling of the smaller girl in her arms again. Tightening her hold ever so slightly, she gave Rachel one last squeeze before removing herself and retreating into her bedroom.

Once she was inside the room, she leaned against the door, her back softly resting against it. A small smile forced its way onto her face, even though happiness was far from what she was feeling after the day she'd had, as she realised that just the slightest bit of physical contact with Rachel made some of her negative feelings leave her body. At that moment, she wondered how she ever thought she didn't have feelings for Rachel. She had it bad.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you to those who are reviewing, I really appreciate your kind words. However, to those of you who read without reviewing, please, please, PLEASE try and just leave a little review, even if it's a short one that says you're enjoying it, or you hate it. The more reviews I get, the quicker I can write. If I don't see the reviews, it kind of makes me lose inspiration.**

**A/N(2): I'm including quite a lot of Brittana in this chapter, so I hope I can do it justice. They have such a different connection than Quinn and Rachel, so I want to try and get that across as much as I can. This will also hold quite a fair bit of emotion, so I hope I can show that effectively. **

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

A few days had passed since Santana's emotional breakdown and on Thursday morning, Quinn cornered her in the Cheerio's locker room.

"Q, you know you're not allowed to be in here. You're not a cheerleader anymore and if Sue catches you in here, you're toast."

"I don't care. Why the hell haven't you spoken to Brittany yet?"

Santana was evidently caught off-guard by Quinn's sudden attack. "Whoa. I didn't know I was supposed to talk to her?"

"Oh, come on, S. All that stuff you said to me the other day, I figured even you'd have the sense to do something about it. You know Britt loves you now, so what's stopping you from marching over to her, telling her you feel the same and kissing the face off her?"

An amused chuckle passed through Santana's lips at Quinn's little rant. "Calm down, Q. You're gonna pop a vein. In case you've forgotten, Brittany still has a boyfriend. I can't just tell her to dump Wheels because she doesn't want to hurt him. But, trust me when I say that, by the end of the day, I'll have my girl back."

XXX

At lunch, Quinn got her food and walked over to the Gleeks table, where Rachel was sat with Mercedes, Kurt and Tina. She gestured to the empty seat next to Rachel, "Do you mind if I sit here, Rach?"

"Not at all, Quinn," Rachel quietly stated with a shy smile.

Quinn smiled back at the girl and took her place next to her. They two of them spent their lunch in mostly silence, with the occasional bit of small talk. The others sat around the table were too interested in the new atmosphere between the girls in front of them to have their own conversations. The silence between Rachel and Quinn was joined with bashful, knowing smiles; something else that gave Mercedes, Kurt and Tina to wonder about.

Kurt decided to break the tension. "So Quinn, how's the bump treating you?"

"Oh, um, fine I guess. I mean, I get tired really early and I constantly have a sore back. I can't really do shifts at Lima Buys anymore because of the pain. Aside from that, it's going alright."

"Did you find out the gender?"

"No. The nurse asked me if I wanted to at my scan, but I kind of wanted it to be a secret."

"Quinn, are you alright with talking about the baby?" Rachel asked with the most sincere tone in her voice.

The blonde gently placed her hand over Rachel's and gave it a light squeeze before moving it back. "Yeah, I am. I've had a lot of time to think about it and I think I've come to a decision. But, if it's okay with you, I'd like to wait until we get home so that I can discuss it with you and your dads."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up, as she didn't expect Quinn to have made a decision yet. She'd expected to be there to help Quinn with this difficult choice, which made her feel saddened at how their relationship had briefly plummeted.

"Of course, Quinn. We can talk about it all when we get home. My dads and I will support whatever decision you've made."

"Thanks, Rach."

XXX

In a different part of the school, Santana was spending her lunch searching the halls, desperately trying to seek out what she needed. When she passed by the choir room, a flash of blonde caught her eye.

She entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her, and noticed the girl in the room was sitting on a chair, staring into space. "Britt, I've been looking for you everywhere."

At the sudden and unexpected sound of a voice, Brittany jumped in fright. "San! You scared me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, B. I didn't mean to frighten you. I was actually just wondering if I could speak to you for a few minutes."

"Yeah, sure."

Santana walked over and sat in the chair opposite Brittany, wringing her hands together with nerves. "Are you up for a serious talk? Because I have some major things I have to get off my chest."

"Santana," Brittany sighed. "I have all the time in the world for you, so whatever you need to talk about, I'm happy to listen."

"Okay," Santana said, before releasing a deep and slow breath. "There's something I've been hiding, not only from you, but from myself. I've been hiding it for the longest time and I don't want to do that anymore."

"Kinda like a secret?"

"I guess it's sort of like a secret. But, B, do you think you could listen to everything I say before you speak? I just need to get this all out."

"Okay, San."

Santana knew she had to do it. She couldn't leave Brittany in the dark about how she felt and she couldn't keep it inside anymore. It was tearing her apart inside, knowing how strongly she felt for her best friend, yet having to keep it from her. Beneath all of her bravado, she feared the girl rejecting her; Brittany hated the thought of hurting people and Santana knew that she wouldn't willingly hurt Artie. Maybe she'd have to live without having the girl as her girlfriend, as long as she told the Brittany she loved her.

"You know me better than anyone, B. You know how hard it is for me to do the whole feelings deal, and I struggle with talking about what things mean to me without screwing it up. But right now, it's going to be different. We've known each other forever. We've grown up together, side by side, hand in hand. You've seen me at my best and you've seen me at worst, and through both of them, you've cared about me more than anyone ever has."

Santana paused, as Brittany leaned over and softly brushed away a tear that had spilled down the Latina's cheek. She never thought opening herself up would be this hard, and under any other circumstance, she would've given up. But she knew she couldn't. She had to keep going until everything was out. Until Brittany knew the whole truth about what she meant to her, she couldn't rest.

"You're the best friend I've ever had, and I know that in my entire life, I'll never meet anyone who means more to me than you. I'll never know anyone who is even half as important as you are. You're so beautiful, B, in everything you do and everything you say. I was wrong to make you think it meant nothing every time we fooled around. We shared our first kiss when we were ten, because we thought we should practice. We lost our virginities to each other when we were thirteen, because we were scared about having sex. We were each other's firsts in everything and through all of them, it wasn't just for the experience to me. It wasn't so I could have the comfort of losing my virginity to someone who knew me more than anyone. It was because I loved you. I love you, B. I'm _in_ love with you, and my one regret is not saying it after we kissed for the first time, or had sex with each other for the first time. Because I felt it even back then; it didn't matter how young I was, I knew I loved you. That's the only thing I've ever truly understood. I'm sixteen and I'm madly in love with my best friend, and if there's one thing I know, it's that I'm always going to love you."

By now, Santana allowed her tears to freely run down her face. She couldn't have held them in if she tried. As she looked up and made eye contact with Brittany, she saw the blonde was attempting to stop her tears from spilling over. Now that she'd let everything out, guilt began to set in. She figured Brittany was crying because of Artie, because she'd have to let Santana down gently due to the fact that she had a boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, B. I know you're with Artie and I know that you love him. You don't have to hurt him, not for me. I know I don't deserve you. You don't have to go and dump him. Stay with him and stay happy, because you deserve so much happiness. We can pre-"

She was cut off by Brittany's lips on hers. Her eyes widened at the unexpected attack, but it didn't take long for her to close her eyes and slide her lips effortlessly against Brittany's. She'd never felt a kiss so gentle and loving in the entire span of her life, and she could feel her heart swell with more love than she'd ever known. The kiss lasted just a few minutes, but it was more than enough for Santana, for she'd never expected Brittany to react in that way at her confession.

"San," Brittany blissfully sighed. "I've loved you since like, forever."

Santana smiled at that, feeling completely relieved at the lack of rejection. "B, you have no idea how happy that makes me. But, what about Artie?"

"He's sweet, but he isn't you, San. I'm going to end things with him. Today."

"Britt, I don't want to rush you. I'll wait for you."

"No," Brittany had a stern tone. "I've waited for you for this long, I'm not waiting anymore. I don't love Artie, I love _you_. You finally got the courage to tell me how you feel about me, so I'm not going to waste this opportunity."

"Only if you're sure, B. I know you don't like hurting people, and you know he's going to be hurt."

"I know he will. But, if he cares about me at all, he'll want me to be happy and he'll accept that it's you I love."

Santana knew she'd never get tired of hearing Brittany tell her she loved her. She'd waited her whole life to be brave enough to make this girl hers and she was grabbing the chance firmly with both hands.

Brittany could feel the butterflies swarming around in her stomach at how Santana was looking at her. "I'll tell him after school, and then we can finally be together. I've always been yours, San."

XXX

On their drive home, Rachel could see Quinn's inability to sit still, as the blonde girl was continuously fidgeting and twisting her hands together. She knew Quinn was planning to tell the family about the decision she had come to about the baby, and she started feeling nervous herself as they neared their house.

As soon as they walked through the front door, Quinn summoned Rachel and her fathers in the living room. Marcus and Michael had an idea of what the topic of conversation was going to be about, so between themselves, they made an unspoken promise to support their second daughter.

As Quinn sat down on the chair, Rachel and the two men took their place on the sofa. Rachel wanted desperately to be next to Quinn, comforting her with a well-placed arm over her shoulder, because she could see how anxious the girl was.

"As you all know, I only have a month and a half before the baby is due." Quinn took a deep breath before she continued. "The months since I found out I was pregnant haven't been easy and I've been constantly putting off making the decision I know needs to be made. I'm sixteen, you know? What do I know about looking after a baby? I don't know how to change a diaper, I doubt I'd be able to survive on no sleep and the thought of a screaming, puking, pooping baby scares the life out of me. I'd never be able to give this baby the life he or she deserves, because the way I was brought up was pretty corrupt. I'm not the best role model for a child because I've made such horrendous mistakes, ones that I wish I could take back. How can I raise a child when I have the ability to be a horrible person with such ease? This baby would have such a better life with a real family who can love and protect it and give it everything it deserves. But, I want to be selfish. I shouldn't, but I do. I didn't think it was possible for me to become so attached to this little person growing inside me, but I love it so much already that the thought of giving it up breaks my heart."

As Quinn's tears began to fall, Rachel rushed over and wrapped a protective arm around her. With a brush of her thumbs over Quinn's dampened cheeks, she showed the blonde that she could take her time in continuing.

"I think I want to keep my baby. I might not be a good person, but I know I have it in me to be a good mom. It might take time, but with all the love I have in my heart for this baby already, I know I can't abandon him or her."

The sobs were causing Quinn's breathing to hitch continually, and she allowed her body to shrink into Rachel's tight hold, as Marcus and Michael rushed over and wrapped their arms around her.

"Quinn, sweetheart," Michael spoke. "You're a part of this family and if you want to keep him or her, that little baby in there is, too. Your upbringing and your parents hold no influence over the type of mother you will be. That baby will be loved, fed, clothed, cared for, and he or she will have two doting grandfathers. When you moved in here we told you we'd support whatever decision you made. That promise still stands."

"Thank you," Quinn sobbed. "Thank you, so much. All of you."

XXX

Once Quinn's tears had slowed and her sobs had calmed down, Rachel lead Quinn up to her bedroom so the girl could rest after her emotional breakdown. The two were on Rachel's bed, Quinn's head on the brunette's shoulder and Rachel's hand gently brushing through Quinn's blonde tresses.

"Rach?"

"Yes, Quinn?"

"I just want to say..." Quinn shifted in Rachel's arms so she could look into Rachel's eyes. "...thank you. I am so, _so_ grateful for everything you've provided me with. A home, a family, a second chance."

"Quinn, you have nothing to thank me for. I would never have left you to be alone, not even for a second. You've come to mean far too much to me and my fathers to ever see you suffer."

Quinn could hear the sincerity in Rachel's voice, as she smiled at her good fortune of having someone like the brunette in her life. "You might be a diva, Rach, but you're the best person I know."

"Thank you, Quinn." Rachel ducked her head, before Quinn reached her hand up to her face and gently swiped some escaped brunette locks behind her ear.

Before resting her head on Rachel's chest and taking a nap, she stretched up slowly towards her diva – _my diva, _she thought, _I like the sound of that_ – and she placed the gentlest of kisses to Rachel's left cheek. As her lips left the girl's face, she saw the crimson blush that has forced itself upon Rachel's cheeks. Just the sight made her feel weak at the knees, and she was thankful for small mercies as she realised that if she had been standing up, she would have surely fell to the floor.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm so very sorry it's been so long. I couldn't update the chapter because I was in Spain with my partner, and then I moved house as soon as I came back where I had no Internet, and then when I was ready to update and write more, some personal issues came up that couldn't be avoided. Please, forgive me. **

**A/N(2): I'm dedicating this chapter to **_**Notjustanotherperson**_**. You give me such detailed reviews that I really appreciate, and you do it pretty much every chapter. So, here's me showing my gratitude, to you. **

The weekend came only too slowly for Rachel and Quinn. The two of them were exhausted after Quinn's emotional revelation on Thursday and they were both thankful for two days of rest from school.

It was Friday evening and Quinn had a headache forming behind her eyes from the stress of the day. After telling the Berry family that she was planning to keep her baby, she knew she couldn't avoid telling Puck, so that's exactly what she decided to do at lunch on Friday afternoon. She didn't expect it to go as it had.

XXX

_Quinn approached Puck in the cafeteria, as he was visibly chatting up one of her former teammates on the Cheerios. _

"_Puck." He turned to face her. "I need to speak to you. In private."_

"_I'm kinda busy right now, Q."_

_Quinn gave him her best HBIC glare. "Now, Puckerman. It's important."_

"_Fine," he mumbled, as he followed her out into the hallway. _

_As they walked a little further down into a more deserted part of the hallway, Quinn turned to Puck and leaned against the lockers. _

"_I've come to an important decision."_

"_About?"_

_She couldn't believe he could be so clueless. "Your baby that I've been carrying inside me for the last seven and a half months. I mean, you do remember that I'm pregnant, right?"_

"_Alright, Q, no need to be so snarky."_

"_Really, Puck? Because you've done nothing for me throughout this whole pregnancy. You got me into this mess, but you haven't had the decency to look after me."_

"_Whatever, Q. I didn't force you to have sex with me, so we both got you into this position."_

_Quinn rolled her eyes. "No, you just got me drunk until I thought it was a good idea."_

"_Whatever," he repeated. "So, come on, what's this big decision you've come to?"_

"_I've decided that..." she blew out a breath, "...I'm keeping the baby."_

"_WHAT?" _

_Quinn had never seen Puck's facial expression change so much, so fast. He'd gone from disinterested to downright disbelief in less than five seconds. _

"_What do you mean, you're keeping the baby? I thought you wanted to have it adopted?"_

"_I've been thinking about it, and I can't give up this baby. It's a part of me, Puck, and I'm the one it's been growing inside of. I'm the one who's grown to love it, as it's mother."_

"_Q, I'm not ready to be a father."_

_Quinn blanched. "W-what?"_

"_I'm sixteen, Q. I'm too young for this shit. A baby? I can't deal with that kind of responsibility. I'm sorry, but, if you're keeping this kid, you're on your own."_

"_Are you fucking kidding me? That has to be some sort of fucking joke!"_

"_Look, I'm not a bad guy, but I'm not looking to be a dad right now."_

"_Oh, and I was looking to be a mom when you got me drunk so that you could fuck me? You know what, Puck, take back what you said. You __**are**__ a bad guy. I thought you were one of the decent ones. You remember that time you told me about how you'd never want to be a deadbeat dad, because that's exactly what you had to put up with? Well, congratulations. You're officially just like him."_

_Quinn didn't allow Puck to speak back as she turned around and made her way back to the cafeteria. By the time she'd got back to the room, she found Rachel sitting at the Gleeks table and joined her. Rachel noticed that Quinn was fighting back tears, and asked her if everything was alright, but she was brushed off with a "not now" and left it at that. _

XXX

Quinn and Rachel were sitting in the den that Rachel's fathers had made when she was younger. As they sat against one another on Rachel's bean bag, the sound of a movie playing in the background was barely registered in Quinn's wandering mind. There was something nagging in the back of her mind, it wouldn't go away. She knew what it was. She wanted Rachel for her own. She wanted to take the girl's heart and wrap it in the safety of her palm. The problem was that she wasn't sure if Rachel would ever give her that kind of chance again; she was sure she messed everything up after their almost kiss.

_It's now or never,_ she thought. _I have to take the chance._

"Rach?" Quinn turned her full body to face the girl beside her.

"Yes, Quinn?"

"I... I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" Rachel asked softly, her face and voice full of concern at Quinn's suddenly pale features.

Quinn took a few deep breaths, before letting it all out quicker than she thought was possible. "Well, I've been thinking a lot lately and I haven't really been able to get it off my mind. The thing is, I've been wondering if you'll consider going out on a date with me. If you don't want to, I understand and that's fine because I know I messed things up between us when I pushed you away from me. But I like you so much and I just want the chance to prove to you that I'm not a total ass and that I can make you happy."

Rachel's mouth flapped open a few times like a fish out of water. She knew things had been better with Quinn lately but she had no idea the blonde thought of her in such a way. If she was honest, she'd thought of nothing _but_ kissing Quinn since the first time it very nearly happened. She knew how she felt about her, but she wouldn't have thought Quinn returned the affections, not in a million years.

"Quinn, you've just come very close to rivalling my ramblings," Rachel gave a shy giggle as she spoke.

"Sorry, it's just... you make me nervous."

"Hey, don't be nervous. It's just me," Rachel said, as she reached her hand over and swiped away a piece of blonde hair on Quinn's face. "I would love to go on a date with you."

Quinn thought her ears were playing tricks. "Really?"

"Don't sound so shocked, Quinn. You're a very attractive girl, I'd have to be blind to not feel an attraction towards you. Besides, in case it's slipped your memory somehow, I tried to kiss you not so long ago, remember?"

"You _really_ want to go on a date with me?"

"Enough with the "really", of course I do."

Quinn couldn't stop the wide smile that formed on her face, something which Rachel found absolutely adorable. She'd be keeping that to herself for now, though.

XXX

Rachel had agreed to let Quinn take her out on a date on the Saturday of that weekend. That day had arrived and Quinn had nerves like never before. The swishing in her stomach refused to stop, as she made her way towards Rachel's bedroom door.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Her fists came down gently, tapping against the wooden barrier between her and the girl she couldn't stop thinking about.

Rachel opened the door, wearing a black and white, polka dot dress, and black sandals. Quinn thought she looked radiant.

"Wow, Rach. You look... gorgeous."

"Thank you, Quinn. You look extremely pretty yourself," she regarded Quinn's yellow dress and white cardigan.

Quinn tucked her head down and moved some of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Rach. Are you ready to go?"

"I most certainly am. Let's go."

The two girls made their way downstairs, and after telling the Berry men goodbye, they left the house and got into Rachel's car. Quinn insisted on driving, seeing as she was taking Rachel out.

It took Quinn fifteen minutes to drive to Lima's only vegan restaurant, and after parking the car, they entered the establishment and were shown to a table.

"Quinn, you didn't have to go out of your way to bring us here, it's quite expensive. I would've been more than happy to go to Breadstix."

"I would never take you to Breadstix for our first date, Rach. And never mind about the price, don't you worry about that. To be on a date with you, I would pay endless amounts of money."

Rachel let out the cutest giggle Quinn had heard. "Who knew you could be such a charmer?"

"Well," Quinn started with a smirk, as she brushed at her shoulder. "You know how I do."

Rachel laughed at the girl's antics and shook her head. She already felt light-headed from Quinn's flirtatious humour. She had a feeling she'd struggle to get through the remainder of this evening without attacking her date with her lips.

XXX

The girls were just working their way through dessert when Quinn decided now would be a good time to discuss her conversation with Puck. She wanted Rachel to be involved in everything, especially now that dating was on the cards.

"So," she started. "I told Puck that I'm keeping the baby."

"Oh, that's good. How did it go?"

"Not so good."

"How do you mean?"

Quinn could detect the concerned tone in Rachel's voice and partially regretted bringing this up.

"Well, the shortened version? He told me he's not ready to be a father and doesn't want any responsibility for this baby."

"WHAT?" Rachel shouted, but quickly remembered they were in a public restaurant. After looking around to see whether she had attracted attention – thankfully, only a few people had looked towards the direction of the interruption – she continued speaking to the girl in front of her.

"I just don't understand. This came from _Noah Puckerman_? The same Noah who has always sworn he would never be a deadbeat father, like his. The same Noah who, even though he puts on a bravado in front of people, has a heart of gold deep down. Why would he do this?"

"I don't know, Rach. I said the same thing to him. I practically told him he was as the exact same as his dad. But you know what? I'm not upset, I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed. I don't _need_ Puck to bring up this baby. He or she will have a loving mother, you and your fathers. Puck doesn't count for shit."

"Well, Quinn," Rachel breathed softly, though inside she was a raging ball of anger. "I'm glad you can be the bigger person and be positive about this situation. But I'm not happy with this and he won't get away with saying those things to you. I know it's not my place, but he _will_ be getting a piece of my mind."

Quinn laughed softly. "I know I can't hold you back, Rach. I wouldn't even try."

The two girls shared a smile, before finishing their dessert.

As Rachel placed her spoon back in the now empty bowl in front of her, she heard Quinn take a deep breath. As she looked over at her date, she found that Quinn looked troubled.

"Quinn? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. It's just..." Quinn didn't have the first idea of how to word what she was about to say without offending or hurting Rachel. "...I have something I need to say."

"You can tell me anything, Quinn."

Quinn looked at her legs, not wanting to make eye contact with Rachel. She couldn't bear to see the look of hurt that she knew would surely be on Rachel's face. However, she knew if she didn't tell the girl of her insecurities, she would feel like she was being dishonest with her.

"I just want to tell you that... I don't want you to feel obliged to date me for longer than you might want to, just because I'm pregnant. You're 16, Rach, and I'd completely understand if you didn't want to get yourself tangled in this really complicated situation. I'm gonna be a mom soon, and I wouldn't hold it against you if you decided that you don't want to be lumbered with someone else's baby."

"Qui-"

"You know, maybe it's better we just remain friends. I mean, you want Broadway, that's your goal. I'm having a baby and that's only going to hold you back from achieving your dream."

Rachel reached over and grabbed Quinn's hand, a sincere look in her eyes.

"Quinn," she sighed. "Listen to me, and listen completely without interruption. I care about you more than you possibly realise, which means I care about this baby. He or she is an extension of you, how could I possibly not care? You could and will never hold me back from achieving my dream. You know why? Because where I'm going in life, I'm taking you with me. I want you, Quinn. I'm wildly attracted to you, and since you moved in with me and my fathers, you've become the closest person to me. Our relationship has soared, I mean, look at us now. We're on a date. Don't let your worries get the best of you, Quinn, because I'm not going to up and leave you because you have a child. I realise that at 16, I'm perceived in society to be young and immature. However, I've always been very emotionally aware, and I'm perfectly happy to be as much of a parental figure in this baby's life as you'd be willing to let me be."

Quinn's eyes shone with unshed tears at Rachel's confession. She had no idea how strongly the girl felt, and she felt like a royal idiot for thinking she was offering Rachel an easy out.

"I wouldn't expect you to be like, a mom to my kid or whatever. I just don't want you to get into something that you might not be ready for. I mean, this is our first date, you know? What if you get sick of me after a few weeks?"

"Quinn," Rachel breathed. "I'm not going to get sick of you, alright? Just trust me. I could never get sick of you and I'm more than ready to look after you and this baby."

All Quinn could do was look at the girl in awe. She wondered what she'd do if the tables were turned, but then she soon shook her head clear of those thoughts; she knew she'd never abandon Rachel if she was in this position. Especially not after everything she'd done for Quinn.

"Thank you, Rachel," Quinn smiled at the girl in front of her, squeezing the hand in her grasp.

XXX

Rachel and Quinn entered the Berry household after their date to find that Rachel's fathers had retired to bed.

After getting a quick drink of water from the kitchen, both girls made their way upstairs to their respective bedrooms. Before Rachel could slip down the hallway to her bedroom, she noticed the blonde trailing behind her, taking tentative steps.

"Are you not tired, Quinn? If you wanted to watch a movie before bed, that'd be fine."

"N-no, it's not that. I just... I wanted to walk you to your door. Like a proper date would."

"That's extremely sweet of you, Quinn. I'm very fond of this loving side you allow me to see."

Quinn blushed at the brunette's compliment and continued to walk Rachel to her door. She felt elated, the butterflies from the evening still fluttering around her stomach like they didn't know what rest was.

As they reached Rachel's door, Quinn laced her fingers through Rachel's as the two turned to face each other.

"I had a really great time with you tonight," Quinn breathed, her mouth forming a shy smile.

"Me too, Quinn. This was an amazing first date."

Quinn used her free hand to reach over to Rachel and brush falling brown locks behind her ear, causing the girl to duck her head bashfully and cast her eyes downwards in fear of her heart exploding.

It was a mere few seconds before she took the risk and looked into Quinn's eyes. "In fact, so amazing, that I'm already planning date number two, if you'll join me."

"You don't even have to ask me, I would happily go on another date with you."

"Good," Rachel breathed out. "Well, we should get going to bed now. Thank you for our date, Quinn. This was the most amazing evening I've had in a long time, and I've never felt happier."

As soon as the words fell from her mouth, she stood on the tips of her toes and placed the softest of kisses onto Quinn's lips. She allowed her lips to stay pressed against Quinn's for just a few seconds before pulling away, her heart going crazy and her head feeling light.

Quinn smiled down at the girl and began walking towards her own bedroom as Rachel walked into hers and closed the door.

This was it. This was love.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi guys,**

**I know it's been such a long time since I've updated this story, and I thought I'd upload this while I have a chance. Although this won't be a new chapter (so I'm sorry if I got anyone's hopes up), I just want to assure you all that I **_**will**_** be continuing with this fic, eventually.**

**I understand that it's frustrating when you start reading a story and the author just stops updating. Trust me, I definitely get that. But please know that it was never my intention to stop writing this. I'm not really one who shares my inner thoughts with the world, or anyone apart from those close to me in my life. But I feel that I owe at least some explanation for why I've been slacking on this piece of writing. **

**At the end of 2011, my sister unexpectedly passed away. It came as a massive shock to me and my family, and all we could do was try and wrap our heads around what happened. I spent a good portion of time out of university because I was struggling just concentrating on the simplest of tasks, let alone paying attention in lectures and taking notes. I spent the end of that university year and the majority of my summer catching up on the six or seven essays that I'd missed, leaving me little time to do anything other than them. When I got into third and final year, which is where I'm at now, the work was continuous and now I'm doing my dissertation. That's due in like, three weeks, so I'm totally overloaded with work. Work, work, work.**

**As I said, the reason I'm telling you guys this is because you've been amazing with your reviews and your support of the fic, that I felt so bad for having it been so long since I posted the previous chapter. So, with that said, and with the reason for my long absence revealed, I promise that I will be picking the fic back up when I've finished uni in a few weeks. If I still have any of you guys left, please don't lose total faith in me. I **_**will**_** finish this story, but please bare with me while I get myself onto the track of where I want to take it.**

**Again, I'm sorry for being absent for so long, and I will get the next chapter up and continue this story as soon as I possibly can.**

**Thank you.  
xxx **


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